My son had $3000 stolen from his account

[Faithr]

This is just so weird.  We've had people use our credit card numbers and had to get them cancelled and changed, but this was money taken out of his checking account using his check number.  He never writes checks.  The only check he can think of that he used was a voided check to his employer to get direct deposit.  So that means someone working there is a thief.  But I guess I am incapable of high finance, because I don't understand how they stole the money????  Can you just call up a bank with the checking account number and somehow make a withdrawal???

 

Anyway, he just realized this happened last night when he happened to be looking at his account. 

 

I swear, with technology we are less safe, not more.

 

Disgustedly yours . . . . 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Faithr

[ErinE]

Has he used his debit card to pay for anything? Withdrawn cash at an ATM? A debit card would be more likely to allow withdrawal access to his account.

 

I assume he's notified his bank right away. I hope he gets the issue resolved soon. :grouphug:

[Cz mama]

I'm so sorry...What a feeling of violation!! The bank should absolutely reimburse you and be able to do some detective work and establish how this happened. FYI we have zander iD insurance (recommended by Dave Ramsey) and it's about $12 a month for our whole family, they 'clean up the mess' when identity, and theft happens. Best wishes, I am so sorry this has happened. 

[Faithr]

The bank said it wasn't from his debit card!  I don't understand it.  They said the transaction was a phone call with his checking account number.  He did talk to the bank and they said they'd reimburse the money.  I really think he needs to tell his employers.  I think it has to do with somebody in the payroll office or something.  

[ErinE]

The bank said it wasn't from his debit card!  I don't understand it.  They said the transaction was a phone call with his checking account number.  He did talk to the bank and they said they'd reimburse the money.  I really think he needs to tell his employers.  I think it has to do with somebody in the payroll office or something.  

 

That's horrible. He should notify his employers just in case.

 

A friend had his information stolen twenty years ago from a credit union. His credit is on permanent lockdown because every few years, another attempt to use his information crops up.

[ErinE]

I forgot to mention, your son also needs to close his account and open a new one. His bank should be able to walk him through this, though he might need to make a personal appearance. He should also look into locking down his credit reports.

Edited March 28, 2016 by ErinE

[ondreeuh]

You can do a "check by phone" just using the routing & account numbers printed at the bottom of a check. Anytime you write a check, you are handing out this information. My guess is that someone got a hold of a check (found a checkbook in a drawer and grabbed or took a picture of one) and used it to pay a bill. The upside is that the info should be easy to trace as to where it was spent - if it was spent to pay a bill, then they can track down whose account was paid.

Edited March 28, 2016 by ondreeuh

[Butter]

A few years ago my parents had an on-line check taken out of their account for a recurring charge set up at playboy.com.  $89 a month (as my dad said... that must be a LOT of porn!).  The bank said stuff like that happens all the time.  My parents use checks everywhere and it's very easy to copy down the routing number and account number.  Sometimes, though, they said no one even needs to see a check.  It's easy to find out the routing number of banks and then find out what they use to assign account numbers (how many numbers, if there are dashes, etc.) and then just make up an account number and hope they get it right.  Both the bank and playboy.com were very quick to fix it.  There was an investigation, but there was no way to know where the order was from since the IP went through an anonymizer at a university in California (my parents are in MD, but the IP info doesn't mean the person wasn't in Maryland as well).  It was a pain for them having to open a new account.  That's what is really annoying about people who use credit card or bank account numbers.  It causes extra headaches for the victim in addition to just the violation of having their info used.

[Arcadia]

Its probably someone in the company who has enough time to copy the numbers of a void check.

 

Does he have a saving account link to that checking account? I would keep the bare minimum in checking and push all excess to savings especially on pay day.

[Carol in Cal.]

Late last year DH's truck was broken into, and his Christmas present to me was stolen. 

Shortly after that he realized that he couldn't find his check book.

We immediately cancelled our overdraft protection on that checking account, and reduced the amount in it to exactly what we needed to pay the bills that day, which we did by phone, then cut it back to very little while we ordered checks and switched our direct deposits and major bill paying into a more dormant checking account at a different credit union.

 

I personally think that his checkbook will turn up (sigh), and we haven't had any weird charges, but better safe than sorry.

 

We have always had more than one checking account so we can turn something like this around fast.

[gardenmom5]

has he contacted the bank?  and the employer?

 

ds  had the exact same thing happen to him  last fall. someone used the direct deposit info to make a withdrawal from his account.  the bank is liable, and they covered it.

[Seasider]

The bank said it wasn't from his debit card! I don't understand it. They said the transaction was a phone call with his checking account number. He did talk to the bank and they said they'd reimburse the money. I really think he needs to tell his employers. I think it has to do with somebody in the payroll office or something.

A phone call? How in the world is that a secure transaction? Whoever called would have had to have information beyond just his account number.

I'm thinking personal security questions, PIN number, etc.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Seasider

[bluemongoose]

This happened to us many years ago. Postman's keys were stolen and the thief used them to open blue mailboxes and get out the mail. We had paid a bill with a check in one of the boxes and the check account numbers from the check were used to steal from our account. We stopped using checks entirely and have also pretty much stopped using debit cards. We have debit cards, but we rarely use them. Credit cards are the safer way to go. You are not out the money while a claim is being processed if your card is hacked as you are with the debit account. We do not use credit cards for credit, only a way to safely spend money we do actually have in the bank, and then we pay the card off before interest is incurred. 

[mamaofgirls]

Does he pay for any of his bills online? Our electric company and car insurance have online payment in which I put down my account number and routing number. That could always be a place to look..

[Annie G]

The bank said it wasn't from his debit card!  I don't understand it.  They said the transaction was a phone call with his checking account number.  He did talk to the bank and they said they'd reimburse the money.  I really think he needs to tell his employers.  I think it has to do with somebody in the payroll office or something.  

 

What I can't figure out is where the money went. If they called it in, the money must have been electronically transferred to another account, right? Can they trace where that account is? 

 

I'm so sorry this happened to your son, but delighted that the bank is refunding his money!

[Prairie~Phlox]

I'd make sure he no longer leaves a large amount in his checking. All 3 of my teens leave less than $50 in checking & the rest in savings & transfer when needed.

[Tree Frog]

This is just so weird.  We've had people use our credit card numbers and had to get them cancelled and changed, but this was money taken out of his checking account using his check number.  He never writes checks.  The only check he can think of that he used was a voided check to his employer to get direct deposit.  So that means someone working there is a thief.  But I guess I am incapable of high finance, because I don't understand how they stole the money????  Can you just call up a bank with the checking account number and somehow make a withdrawal???

 

Anyway, he just realized this happened last night when he happened to be looking at his account. 

 

I swear, with technology we are less safe, not more.

 

Disgustedly yours . . . . 

 

We had this problem twice for a total of $700. We were able to look online and see pictures of the checks we had written. When we looked at the checks we didn't recognize (and hadn't written in our register), we realized they were written on someone else's account using their checks. For us, both times and same other person, it was a printing issue; the automated scanner misread the account number. When we raised a bigger stink the second time it happened, the credit union ordered replacement checks for the other person and we haven't had problems since.

 

I hope it's figured out soon!

[Katy]

It's also possible it wasn't stolen at all, it was just a teller error.  Someone could have entered the wrong account information and accidentally transferred out the incorrect amount.  Or it could be a hacker.

 

He should close the account and open one with a different number.  And the bank should reimburse him for the loss.

[Faithr]

Thanks all.  I don't understand it.  I am getting things second hand from him and he's reporting what the bank is telling him.  His employers say it is impossible that it happened through them??  The money was transferred to a Capital One account?  Anyway, the bank is reimbursing and is also investigating it.  So hopefully it will all turn out.  

[AmyontheFarm]

Since he has told his employer if other people working there start having the same issue they will know it's an in house problem.

[mamakelly]

A few weeks ago I deposited a check for camping, from my mom, in DH's and my account and took out 1200 cash for our monthly cash budget. About a week later my mom calls and she's missing 1200 from her account. After some sleuth work on our part she and I realize they took the $1200 out her her account instead of mine. It was a total bank teller error but still! They gave me money from someone else's account. We were furious!

[ondreeuh]

Thanks all.  I don't understand it.  I am getting things second hand from him and he's reporting what the bank is telling him.  His employers say it is impossible that it happened through them??  The money was transferred to a Capital One account?  Anyway, the bank is reimbursing and is also investigating it.  So hopefully it will all turn out.  

 

Does the bank generate a virtual check when "check by phone" payments are done? It sounds like my earlier guess that someone used your son's account to pay a bill. If it had been a physical check that was misread by the computer system, would that show up in his account like a PP's? I know that this is your son's problem and not something you need to solve, but I am curious.

 

[Paula in MS]

I have never heard of "check by phone".  I would absolutely not do business with a bank that has so little security.

[Janeway]

Is it possible he has checks in his room or such that someone could have stolen? All they would have to do is quickly snap a picture of the numbers. What about a statement in the mail?