I was recently the victim of identity theft.  Last Wednesday afternoon, my bank contacted me and said there had been suspicious charges to my checking account.  Had I charged $500 at a Home Depot in Michigan that morning, they asked?  No?  How about $211 at a 7-11?  Or $100 at a Wal-Mart?  I had not done any of these things -- particularly since all this frenetic spending had taken place about 500 miles from where I was.

It was all the more curious because I had not lost my check card; it was sitting safely in my wallet.  I asked the bank how someone could have managed to use my account without my card, and was told that thieves can write down all your card information at a place you use it (such as a restaurant), then can have a fake card made up with all your details on the magnetic strip.

Needless to say, this was quite a shock to me, since I am quite careful with my card.  Fortunately, I am protected from the loss, but until all the paperwork is straightened out, nearly $800 is missing from my account.  Disturbing, to say the least.

In the future, I plan to limit the use of my check card.  I'll be writing more checks, and using cash.  I just don't feel safe using the debit card anymore -- particularly given the information I heard yesterday.  When filling out the fraud affidavit at my local bank branch, I asked if there is any move on the part of banks to add extra security to cards, such as the "chip and pin" system they have in Europe, which requires you to enter a PIN number for any purchase.  The answer I received was shocking.  "No," he said.  "Fraud is big business.  It keeps a lot of people employed.  The investigators, the insurance companies, even the retailers who benefit from the illegal purchases."

While it may be slightly inconvenient to use my debit card less, it can't be any more inconvenient than having my identity stolen.  While my experience was rather mild in comparison to the horror many people go through, it is not anything I wish to repeat.