July 24, 2015
My bank in Caunes had the ATM vandalized. That meant that last week, when I wanted to insert my ATM card into the slot, it did not go in completely. So I went to the bank today and asked for a print out of my checking account transactions. Arriving home I saw an entry for this past Monday that raised questions.
There was a charge for 44 Euros for gas purchased at station #18 at the Autoroute du Sud Vedene. Firstly, I never left the Caunes Monday on account of the heat; second, station #18 is on the road known as the "A7", near Montelimar in the Drome departement, as well as Vezelay and Le Puy.
Plugging into the Internet the identifying information for the gas station, I came up with an old entry, but a relevant one. Someone had written into an Internet bulletin board about what to do about a charge for gas at that station made on the writer's bank debit card by someone other than the cardholder.
Tomorrow I will have to go to the bank to have my ATM card blocked and a new one ordered. It will take a few weeks to arrive. As Monday I'm leaving on a trip to the Pyrenees, the fraud will complicate traveling: I'll have to pay tolls with cash rather than as I have been doing, with the ATM/debit card. And I'll have to carry enough cash to carry me through the trip, rather than making ATM withdrawals as I go along, as I usually do. That means I'll have to carry my funds in two or three different places, to protect myself against the risk of having it all disappear from one place.
To add insult to injury, looking at my statement, I also see that I was charged 40 Euros for the privilege of having an ATM/debit card.
Brave New World!
I'm just glad I caught the fraud within days of its occurrence and before embarking on my road trip. It's doubtful that I'll be reimbursed the charge, but if I can stop it happening again, that will be enough.
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