I’m going to write today about a topic I don’t usually cover, unfortunately it’s one of those topics you don’t think about until you have to. I’m talking about identity theft and bank theft, both of which happened to me several weeks ago.

Getting your online bank account hacked is not something I ever thought would happen to me, but when it did, it was not just dealing with the shock of what happened, but also a growing awareness of how easily it can happen, and how easily it could happen again.

I won’t go into the details, but I can tell you my online bank account was accessed by outside parties and they were able to withdraw or transfer almost $10,000 before I was able to catch them.

So I’m going to write down a few things I wish I’d known and hopefully, you will take some steps to protect yourself.

The first thing is to be aware of is how unsafe the use of debit cards are. Think about how often and mindlessly we hand our debit card over to restaurant staff, gas pumps, stores, and online purchases. Many times they have access to our security codes or pins. The point is there aren’t a lot of set rules governing the use of debit cards. And if you’re under the illusion that if your bank account or Debit card is hacked, the bank will automatically refund you the loss, I can tell you it is not as easy as you would like to think.

The other thing about a debit card is if the money is stolen, you are now in a position of having to try to get it back from the bank. Like I said, not so easy! You might consider the use of a credit card instead, or at least in some situations, and just pay it off every month. Although I am not a fan of credit cards, if it is compromised, you’re not in a position of having to get the money back from the bank, in fact, the credit card company is in a position of having to get the money from you. A much better dynamic than debit cards.

The thieves made the fraudulent purchases in Miami, Florida. I offered to prove that I was in California on those days when I made the claim to my bank, but they chose to ignore that and told me that my claims were not going to be honored and that I was not going to get my money back. I had to send them proof, which they did not make easy. I can tell you dealing with their claims department, I had no friends, in fact, nobody was really willing to take up my cause. I felt throughout the whole process I was fighting a big bureaucratic system, with decisions made in the background, and nobody I talked to had any power to influence any of the decisions. The result was I felt pretty powerless and my anxiety level went up each and every day for the weeks it took to finally get it resolved.

So what can you do?

Understand your bank’s policy about debit card fraud. Find out what the process is if your account gets hacked. And If it does get hacked, you should know there are certain steps you have to take in order to rectify it.

Obviously, contacting the bank’s fraud claim department is where it starts. But you also have to take immediate preventive steps in order for the damage to be mitigated. If you go to the TSA website, they have a checklist of things to do.

But one of the first and most important things to do is to place a credit freeze, something you have to do with each credit bureau. It doesn’t cost anything, and it does take a little bit of time, but this will prevent anybody from opening up an account in your name if they have stolen your identity.

Transunion
Equifax
Experian

Put a credit fraud alert with all three as well.

File a police report, you just want it on the record.

Here are some changes I am going to start doing in order to prevent this in the future.

• Never use your ATM card at the gas pump, as much of a pain as it is, go inside and pay the clerk.  This is how I believe I was hacked, thieves can set up ways of reading your card and pin number, it happens all the time.

• Use a credit card at restaurants, I love waiters and waitresses, but one bad apple can steal your information very easily.

• Do not use public Wi-Fi at hotels, airports, malls, or any other place. And if you do, absolutely do not go into any financial apps on your phone. This is such an easy way for thieves to access your information.

There are so many ways that predators can get your information. Be alert, trust your instincts, and never ever give out your information. No institution will ever contact you by phone and ask for it.

Hope this helps and that you never have to go through what I just did last month.