Thank you all for your comments of concern and emails about my fever. It’s gone.
I have no idea what that was all about, but it was roughly 48 hours of just not quite feeling up to par, no energy, little strength, no list (listless).
So, today you should expect one of my typically brilliant posts about something humorous and entertaining, right? Right! So, here we go...
Our phone rang this morning.
“Hello, this is Joshua calling from Discover Card fraud prevention. May I please speak with Mr. or Mrs. Earle?”
“This is Mr. Earle.”
(Then we went through the identification questions and answers such as date of birth, mother’s maiden name, and so on.)
“Yes, Mr. Earle. We’re investigating some recent purchases on your Discover card which may have been fraudulent. Did you or your wife make an online purchase this weekend at Polo.com for $61.98?”
“No.”
“How about Sears Internet for $55.43?”
“No.”
You can see where this was going. A number of purchases were made using MY card number, but each time the user gave a different (incorrect) expiration date. Somebody has got my number!
The upshot of all this was: My account has been terminated, new cards with a new number will be issued within 7 business days, I’m to notify all vendors who charge my discover card for recurring bills (like my local newspaper subscription, my cable internet service, and Netflix) that the account is no longer valid, and so on.
Big hassle! HUGE hassel!
Then I realized... Hey! I’m a victim of identity theft! I’m now a statistic!
I wonder if there’s a book in this somehow? Somebody, call Oprah for me!
Oh, one more unrelated note. I was listening to my favorite oldies station on the way home from work today and heard, among other songs, the Animals’ version of “The House of the Rising Sun.”
Although this is VERY inappropriate and politically INcorrect, it occurred to me that an updated version would go:
”There is no house in New Orleans.” And nothing more.
(We hate you, Katrina!)
5 comments:
I have to apologise in advance but .... but .... I just had to laugh at your new words for that song and it is now going to stick in my mind forever and a day.
Discover card has provided you with excellent service. When I was in London I received a call on my cellphone from my bank asking whether I had made a purchase in Oxford Street. They were also worried about credit card fraud. You were extremely lucky in your case but as you mentioned, it is also extremely worrying.
Yeah, I agree - it was pretty funny. Glad you're feeling better.
The local radio stations have been playing any songs which reference New Orleans almost non-stop since Katrina. I must admit to thinking of the same line you used.
Good thing Discover caught the trouble. I don't use credit cards much any more, so I doubt if I will be hit like that. Never know, though.
John, do be careful. Some of these so called credit card company calls are actually the identity theft scoundrels. You might want to call Disvocer and verify that this person was on the level.
Whoa - what a PITA! Hope it's all worked out now.
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