Built-in fraud protection (whew!)

Karen

Mid-summer, as I was blissfully reading email, I received three order confirmations from iTunes  thanking me for my gift card order.

"Wait!" I thought to myself, "I haven't placed any iTunes orders!" I tried to stay calm, but there was that little voice in my head saying, "Someone stole your credit card!"

I learned that it's hard to dial a customer service number when your hands are trembling, but I managed to do it. The nicest Wells Fargo customer service person answered the phone and walked me through all the pending transactions on my account, and at least five of them were purchases I had not made.

The representative noticed I was starting to get nervous again and assured me that I had nothing to worry about. After all, I have the WellsProtect® program built into my Wells Fargo credit card. This free program comes with all Wells Fargo credit cards and automatically protects the cardholder from liability for fraud and theft when reported promptly.

The representative closed my account and explained that a new account number would be set up for me. All I had to do was sign an affidavit  of forgery, which was mailed to me a few days later, and return it to have the charges that were not mine removed.

Everything that the Wells Fargo representative explained to me was exactly how it went. I received a new card in the mail. A few days later, I received the affidavit and returned it to Wells Fargo, and then my fraudulent charges were removed from my account.

I wonder what happened to the charges, or if the culprit was ever caught?

Now I'm a little bit more cautious about shopping online with my card, but knowing that the WellsProtect® program is always going to be there for me, I'm not going to let that stop me!