Fraud Alert!

Folks, there's a lot of crooks out there just trying to make a fast buck off of you. Two instances of fraud came to my attention yesterday.

First, I found that someone got a hold of my ATM card number and charged $95 on it. Luckily, I have it set up with my bank to send me notices on activities on my accounts.

It was a charge at some gas station somewhere in San Fernando. Well, I haven't been in San Fernando for at least six months. The last time I was anywhere in the vicinity was to pick up the Adventures of Superman plaque, and I didn't even buy gasoline at the time while there.

I notified the bank of this bogus charge and they will be taking immediate action on it including "killing" the ATM card so they can't use that anymore.

The second involves someone trying phish my PayPal account by sending an email asking me to "update" my bank accounts that are set up at PayPal. This happened before (a few months ago) and I sent PayPal a notice to their fraud investigation unit. They confirmed that it was a phishing attempt.

The crooks try to trick you by sending official-looking emails to get you to reveal your password or other personal information. They also use fake websites.

I again notified PayPal and they confirmed that it was a phishing attempt and they will take immediate action. My PayPal account has not been compromised in any way.

If you receive notice that someone's trying to rip off your bank accounts and/or trying to phish you, you should protect yourself immediately by notifying the bank and the anti-fraud departments. In doing so, you may help prevent future crimes against someone else by these good-for-nothing weasels and get their asses thrown in prison.