I'm a Victim

[Julia Buckley]

So recently my bank sent me a letter saying that my account might have been "compromised" by a computer glitch. I wasn't able to get online to check--"login error, please contact a representative"--for three days.

Today I found that someone has been using my debit card number since Saturday, having lots of fun at Best Buy and liquor stores and even loading up on groceries with the money from my checking account.

Naturally I feel violated, but not so much by the random thieves as by the bank which allowed me to be "compromised" in the first place. They assure me now that I will be allowed to "dispute" the purchases, but I don't feel I should have to do even that much. That makes it sound like I have to defend myself to the bank, when in fact they're the ones who let me know about the security problem in the first place. It makes me wonder about the future, when so much of our lives is entrusted to computerized files and supposedly "protected" numbers.

It makes me want to go live in a cabin somewhere with a slate and some chalk. But I would really miss my e-mail.