Fee Ghosts, Sales Goblins, and Identity Thieves

How often do you check your credit card and bank statements?

Some people open their statements and file it away somewhere never to be touched until tax season, while some people just open it and lose it with the bundles of bills and papers being sent to them through the mail. No matter what the case, a quick review of what you have been spending on for the month is worth the minute.

Identity theft, unauthorized withdraws, or ghostly fees may be a reason for your low balance. If you begin to see any strange charges to your account, I would contact the bank right away to figure out the problem.

I was a victim to being charged a $12.99 privacy advantage fee for a service I did not authorize and on a credit card I rarely use. The "privacy advantage" fee was part of a shady selling campaign by banks to scare people in to buying protection against identity theft. The service was contracted out by the bank to these "no-name" companies that are completely separate from the bank, but go under the banks initials usually (IE. Bank of Amigos -> BAC or WellsFinago -> WFC)

Once I reported this to my bank, they refunded my account but when I called the Privacy Advantage company they could not look up my account (because I did not authorize such), and they could not stop this reoccurring fee. Finally after calling several months in a row, they finally found this mysterious authorization and canceled my "account".

All I am recommending is check your statements! If I did not check, I would have been out $156 for the year for something I did not want.

Get the treats and not the tricks.
Enjoy your donut for the day!