My bank wants to "protect" me by canceling my debit card

[dixiegrrrrl]

if I do not answer my home phone when they call
while I am running errands using my debit card.

Just got the letter today.

"In order to protect you from the inconvenience of debit card fraud, if your card is being used *outside your normal usage pattern*
we will contact you by phone to verify the use.
If we cannot reach you by phone, the card will be temporarily canceled.

In order to avoid the "inconvenience" of your card not working when needed, please let us know when you will be traveling or using the card out of your normal usage area.

Please fill out the information below and mail it back to us:

Your name
Your checking account number(s).
Your home and cell and work phone numbers ( I do not have a cell or work phone)
your email address

PS: we are not open after 5 pm or on the weekends.

Note that they use the term "usage pattern" and then change it to "usage area".

Background: This is a local bank. We live in a small town about 90 miles from any city. We usually shop in this town.

Looks like the weekend trip to New Orleans is off, eh?

Edited to add:
Mr. Dixie got same letter yesterday, we called bank, is NOT a scam.

[JaneyVee]

1. You sure its not a scam?

I mean, shouldn't the bank have all that info already?

[Enrique]

2. are you sure it's not a scam?

the information they are asking you to send doesn't make sense, wouldn't they already have that information?

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Not a scam, we called bank, I edited OP.

What it IS...is stupid.
Of course they have the info.
and our home number.
I pointed that out when I called.
Then I asked them how we could call THEM if we decided to go outside of our "usage" area on a weekend.
Spontaneity, and all that, y'know.
Poor teller stuttered for a few minutes, suggested I call manager when "she returns to bank".

[Gormy Cuss]

40. It's annoying but it's become very common.

I'd say that the vast majority of the times when a bank or credit card company has contacted me to verify usage it's been legit use but two or three times it was fraud. Being able to catch the fraudulent use quickly is helpful to them and reduces the chance that you're going to have fraudulent debits on your account.

Bottom line? You don't have to tell them when you're going out of the area or making large purchases but if you have the time it's good for your piece of mind.

FWIW if their algorithm is any good they will notice patterns like dixiegrrrrl likes to take weekend trips every once in a while. I never get flagged when I go back to visit my relatives because their records show that these are places I visit once a year or so.

[tammywammy]

3. Just call the bank before going on a trip.

Whenever I'm traveling I called my bank a few days beforehand and they put a note in the file. Otherwise it would look like suspicious activity. I've had them contact me about unusual purchases that were mine, but also activity that wasn't mine.

[pinto]

6. Same here. I purchased a computer program that was transacted through the EU company's base.

My credit union called me to verify if I authorized the purchase. Small, local credit union. First name basis sort of place. Very easy to work with.

[tammywammy]

14. I also use a local credit union.

I'm very happy with them.

[Agschmid]

25. Same here. It's not a big hurdle.

[pinto]

4. It *is* for your protection. Still, I'd call them directly to verify the letter / info.

I assume this was a written (letter) notice?

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. No scam...

I had stupid conversation with bank yesterday when Mr. Dixie's letter came.

Stupid letter, sending it with no return envelope and asking customers to mail back the info. the bank already has.

Oh..and I asked what out normal area of usage is, they could not tell me.

[politicat]

5. I'd take that letter into the bank.

Worst case, it's a scam they need to know about.

However, even the smallest banks have a number on the back of the debit card. Look there, then call that number.

That sounds fishy (and phishy) as hell.

[99Forever]

7. Never, EVER give this kind of information out when solicited like this.

It is high unlikely this actually IS your bank. go to them in person and take that "notification letter" with you. Best guess is that identity thieves are targeting you and it needs to get handed to the proper authorities (state or federal, depending on the bank's charter.) Do it as soon as possible to protect yourself and your assets.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. It IS the bank's letter, they said, when I called.

Can you believe it?

Things like this are the downside of living in dumb downed Repug. country.
Bank could not see that sending a letter like that would be a problem.

I did not send it back, of course.

[99Forever]

18. Wow, just wow.

I'd run, not walk out of there. As LuvNewcastle says below, get yourself to a credit union, all the services without the nonsense and descriptive business practices.

[RKP5637]

57. This sounds very weird. It tells me the bank is immature and does not

have the tools to effectively deal with fraudulent activities. I would look for another bank or a credit union.

[LuvNewcastle]

12. I agree.

Something doesn't add up here. I would never give out my information, especially my account number, to anyone. The only time you should have to do that is when you go to the teller at the bank. If it is legit, I would move my money to another bank or, better yet, a credit union pronto. This is stupid, and no bank should operate like that.

[99Forever]

15. And I agree with you.

Even tho Dixiegrrrl says it was the bank, that would send me running. Moving to a credit union was a great move for me, MUCH better service, almost no phony fees, and being a member instead of just another customer to be milked, has made a believer out of me.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Turns out..it IS the bank's letter.

I have yet to speak to the manager, which I will do Monday morning, cause I have a whole list of questions for her.
The first one being...why is the bank sending out letters that are copies of scams?

The 2nd one will be....what is her home number I can call on the weekends if I decide to travel outside of my "usage area" some Saturday afternoon?

[Shrike47]

10. I've taken to calling on my card before we travel. Husband didn't call on his card before our

last trip. His card was turned down in a gas station in Barstow. Embarrassing.

[SoCalDem]

60. I do that as well.. Last year when we went to Seattle to see our grandbaby

I got an "emergency alert" email from Discover.. If I did not call the number they gave me within SIX hours from the time on their email, they would cancel our card. During the 6 hours it was "suspended"..

Why? We charged $750.00 at Extended Stay Hotel and charged $600 at a Renton WA Best Buy (bought an ipad & some stuff), and we do not LIVE in Seattle, so they assumed the card was stolen.

If I had NOT brought my laptop, I would have never even read the email..

Ever since then, I always call them BEFORE I travel or buy anything over what we normally buy (they are our only credit card)..

I am somewhat annoyed,but I DO understand that they are protecting us and themselves.

[pnwmom]

13. Why should the weekend trip be off? Just call them and tell them you will be using it

it in the other city. I like it that the banks are doing this, in general. But I don't know why your bank would have to ask you information that they should already have.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Because the bank is not open on weekends and holidays

if I have a spur of the moment urge , or a family emergency requires me to travel out of town.

[pnwmom]

23. In that case, I'd let them know in advance that certain cities should be considered

as part of your normal range, because your family lives there.

I've noticed I don't need to call my bank before I go to see my daughter in her state. That has apparently become part of my usual range.

[notadmblnd]

16. Sounds like a scam

your bank already has your bank account numbers

[Evergreen Emerald]

17. You might want to call them.

When my bank called me, the unusual pattern included some guy in jail getting fifty bucks from my debt, someone paying for theater tickets across the country, and racking up five hundred bucks. All in different states.

[brooklynite]

20. Every credit card company does the same thing...

....what the algorithm is that determines your spending pattern in unusual is never explained.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. So you have no idea if you exceeding "usage", hmmm?

Probably in this area, it would be anything out of the county.
We are truly in the middle of nowhere.

[brooklynite]

24. It may also depend on where the charge is processed.

If I'm at a trade show in San Francisco, and I buy something from a vendor who's office is in Los Angeles, that'll throw up a red flag.

[pinto]

29. All card providers have an "average use" figure for a card. Anything out of line triggers a look.

It's not a penalty nor is it nefarious, imo. It's a protection against misuse (unauthorized use) of your account. Suggest you contact the bank for particulars and take advantage of the oversight.

[winstars]

26. I have CITBANK and they call/email me from time to time asking about a purchase I just did or

made recently. Every few months. I travel for work and sometimes I think that a recurring payment might go thru just as I am doing something in another state or country that would raise a red flag. I actually like when they do that because I see them protecting me...

With that said, I would surely NOT want to let CITIBANK or any other bank know my travel plans all the time. What if you told them you were going to a certain city and someone there copies your card number and tries to use it? Does that bank LET it go thru because you told them you would be there?

CITIBANK has once or twice even refused to let a charge go thru until I called them to say it was me and everything was cool. This might have been pre cell phone or email era though. I didn't mind that their software is set so sensitive, fine with me.

Last night I bought some albums on iTunes. one at $12.99, two at $9.99 and one more... Almost always I only buy songs individually but not last night. The sale goes thru and I download the albums. I check my email and there is one from CITBANK from the their Fraud Prevention Department asking me, by clicking on a link, that the purchase was on the up and up. I did that and that was it. I liked that they seemed on top of it like that.

However, I would not want to have to tell CITIBANK I am about to but that Al Green album before I do...

[hobbit709]

27. If you're out of your normal range how the hell can you answer your home phone?

I'd be moving my money out of their normal range and going to a credit union.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Bless you, Hobbit...YOU get it.

Of COURSE I can't answer my land line when I am out of town.
Of COURSE I cannot call the bank on the weekend if there is an out of town emergency.
And of course I do not want to be tracked by my local community bank.
Which is run by idiots who do not understand they wrote the perfect scam letter
and that not everybody has a cell phone
and even if I DID have a cell phone, service is so bad out here that we cannot make calls between towns anyhow.

[Mnemosyne]

63. I have a CU debit and VISA pulled my card without notifying the CU for 4 days. Card kept being

refused starting on a Thurs, called CU on Monday. They had no clue until they looked and we never did figure out why.

[jen63]

28. This happened to me too,

A few days before I was to go out of town also. Really, really yanked my chain. I told them that I use their automated system almost daily and if I didn't call them to report a stolen card, to leave it the hell alone. They refused, said the card was "bank property". Meh, idiots.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. As I just commented to Hobbit,above

It is all about tracking and control of personal info.

"Those who give up their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security."

We are going to use cash more often, looks like.

[jen63]

51. I did!

It's embarrassing, but I was sooo enraged that they took upon themselves to do it, that I closed my checking account. I do the cash thing and I also found a prepaid that my paycheck can be directly deposited into. Stay out of my personal business! It's my $$$. They think they own your money because they "own the card". Pfffft. I hate banks!

[mythology]

56. The problem is that it's the bank's money when something goes wrong

Target didn't pay for their gross negligence in their recent data breach. The banks paid for it. In spite of the fact that in that case, it was Target's fault entirely for having awful financial security.

Especially when it comes to credit cards, the issuer is on the hook for any fraudulent charges. And with it taking us so long to get to chip and pin cards which will greatly reduce this, that's a lot of money they get stuck paying.

But even if Target were on the hook for the fraudulent charges, they aren't the ones directly dealing with replacing cards, dealing with other retailers who are either not being paid for legitimate services, or are trying to be paid for illegitimate ones and aren't happy either way and customers who are upset about the data breach and needing to get a new card.

[ms.smiler]

62. mythology, permit me a small correction to your post.

It is not the banks money, and they aren’t “on the hook.” Credit card debt is securitized and sold off to investors and the banks collect large fees and commissions for managing those securities. Banks are extremely risk avoidant so they design vehicles by which they put other people’s money at risk while they are guaranteed profits and insured on the investments they create.

I’ll certainly agree with you though on Target’s lax security.

[Mz Pip]

30. We got a call yesterday.

Sort of the same thing. We had made a particularly large purchase and the bank was concerned about the possibility of fraud. It was an unusual charge. We live in CA but booked a trip through a travel agent in New Mexico because other people in our group were using this agent.

I'm not offended by this. We've had our credit card number used in a fraud before and though we didn't have to pay, it was still a hassle.

[Igel]

31. I've had my card suspended a few times.

Pattern was to buy mostly small stuff. Then one day I bought something for $2k, and something else at a store down the block for $1.8k. So "not my pattern" that it's not surprising it was suspended. Embarrassing, to be sure.

Pattern is Houston, TX. Then, out of the clear blue sky, I'm buying something over the Internet from someplace in Germany and it's going to Lodz, Poland. Suspicious? Sure. Obnoxious, since I didn't have phone access. Internet ... That worked.

In another case my wife was travelling to Arizona. She tried to use the card and I got a phone call. I confirmed that my wife really was in Arizona, and either of us might show up there at any time. A minute later, she called to say her card wasn't working. "Problem solved, dear, it should work now."

I've also had my card cancelled once between my pattern was broken. It was suspended after the first transaction, then attempted to be used in a number of other locations, still in Ohio. I was contacted. No, I wasn't in Ohio at the time, nor was my wife, and we hadn't ordered stuff. Somebody got my card number. The card company was saved a bunch of money by suspending the card.

If it had been a debit card ... It's not covered. The cash is taken from your account, it's taken from your account.

[Lars39]

37. There's usually a window of time to to refute debit transactions.

[kiva]

32. Last year my bank sent me a new

debit card and cancelled my old one. When I called and said I hadn't requested this, they had a vague explanation about fraud and shopping patterns; my presumption is that some accounts had been hacked (not mine) and they just didn't want to admit it.

I'd call them and ask them to note some of the places you tend to go with little notice - like your New Orleans trip. Does your husband have a cell phone? If so, consider listing it; it's annoying, but given the choice between losing the ability to use my card or offering up his phone, I'd choose the latter.

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. Actually, I am going to call them

and have them note a LOT of places I "might" go.

Compiling a list now.

Is Cuba still on our shit list?

[kiva]

45. Hmmm, I'd just tell them

then wait for their reaction

[jen63]

59. Bwaaah!

[Beaverhausen]

33. You should always contact credit cards when going out of town

it's for your own protection.

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. and my "convenience", as they pointed out several times in the letter.

Actually I DO contact my CREDIT cards.

But this is about a debit card.
From a local bank.
which is not open after 5 or on weekends and holidays.
One of the holidays being Confederate Day.

[Beaverhausen]

53. Ok. As others have said see if you can join a credit union

At least they have someone working 24/7. Also do you not have a cell phone?

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. No cell.

See, this is very rural.
We do not have 24/7 credit unions, banks, or anything other than the Emergency room and police.
Small town.
Small local bank serving 2 towns.

I DO have a goodly amount of privacy other than the internet I use.
aim to keep it that way.

[DocwillCuNow]

34. Well, they could check with the NSA, find out where YOUR cell phone was when the purchases

were made and then rest easy. Bad idea I know but I just wanted to make a point about what they know and when they know it. Maybe you will be able to get one of their new cards at 20 some percent in the meantime. Really though that sucks, hope you are able to contact them asap. I tried to obtain a rebate from Goodyear and could not open a line of credit because of previous ID theft. That sucked as well.

[dixiegrrrrl]

39. Debit card...no interest.

Your point is valid, tho re: NSA and how easy we make it for them to track us.

With credit cards, I have called when I moved across country, since a frozen card would have been the only alternative.
But now, LOCAL small community banks????
Nope....no way.

[d_r]

35. This is a good thing.

My bank does it.

I've gotten a call right after making a different sort of charge.

I appreciate that they do it.

[joshcryer]

42. This just happened to me with my credit union.

I'm annoyed but I didn't use the card for a year and no change of address or phone number.

[gerogie2]

44. Most debit card fraudulant useage...

makes you liable for the first $50 of use for each fraudulent transactions. So check your debit card and bank account agreements. The banks use the term if your card is lost or stolen you will not be liable for fraudulent use if the card is reported missing in a timely manner. But if someone just gets hold of your card number that is not covered because the card was not physically lost or stolen.

Your best option is to use a credit card for POS transactions so your bank account won't be empty one day.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. Better bet is to use cash, methinks.

Instead of leaving a pile of money for the bank to use, free, all month.

I do use Credit card for online buying, of course.

but all this hassle over a debit card?
Not worth it and the merchants will be happy they do not have to pay the bank for debiting my purchases.

[WinkyDink]

50. Travellers Checks.

[WinkyDink]

47. WHAT?! Since when do banks add a "P.S.", for one thing? I'd go in person.

[In_The_Wind]

48. Good point.

[dixiegrrrrl]

49. Oppps..that ps was my writing.

didn't mean to raise your eyebrows, Winky.

[WinkyDink]

52. Heehee. My world-view is permanently raised eyebrows!

[csziggy]

55. I've had credit card companies call several times over the years

About "out of range" card usage. Most often it would happen when my husband was at DragonCon, charging stuff with various vendors from across the country. So over the last several years we've tried to remember to call them when we go on trips out of state - the thing that most often causes them alarm.

Year before last I talked it over with the credit company security people and gave them both my and my husband's cell phone numbers to add to their files in case of a problem. It was a good thing I did - last year my Dad died just before my husband went off to DragonCon. I was still at my Mom's helping her deal with things when the credit card people called my husband (my cell phone as usual was not nearby or charged when they tried to call me) to verify the charges he had just made.

I'm GLAD they are checking on usage - it makes me feel safer.

[LibDemAlways]

58. Before i traveled to Paris two years ago, I

notified my credit card company of my plans including specific dates and destinations. They informed me that any purchase overseas would receive extra scrutiny anyway. Sure enough, the first time I used the card right at Orly airport to buy a train ticket, the charge was denied. I had to call the bank to assure them the charge was legit. This happened several more times the next few days as well. I appreciate security, but in this case it went too far and bordered on harassment.

[840high]

61. WhenI make an unusually

large purchase -I get a call from the bank.