Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Students: Are You Sure Your FB and Other Online Accounts are Safe? Take a Look at What Happened to Me!

I realize that I am the dean of an ONLINE campus.  So by that virtue, I should not make silly mistakes when it comes to online accounts, and internet use.  However, we all make mistakes, and this one almost cost me a fortune.  Here is what happened, and here is what I learned that I want to pass on to you.

A few months ago, I decided to create Facebook ads for a few of the books I wrote.  I loaded my debit card information in to the ad manager site on Facebook (my first mistake) and set a limit for the ads. They run for a few weeks and that was that, or so I thought.  Recently, I realized that I had left that account information in my Facebook account.  How did I find that out? Well, that is the hard part.  I tried using my debit card and realized that my bank had shut it off.  Thinking at first that I might have just gone to an establishment that was having terminal issues (we’ve all had our cards declined at one place only to have it accepted a few moments later at another), I decided to log in to my account via my banking app on my smartphone.  That is when I realized I was the victim of debit card fraud.  It took me a moment or two to fully embrace the situation, as I think my head was spinning for a few moments, and when I came to my senses, I realized that thousands of my hard-earned dollars in my checking and savings account had been debited by Facebook for ads.  Luckily, Facebook had shut down my account because they saw suspicious activity, and my bank had already alerted their fraud prevention and loss department.  Long story short is that the money was replaced, but I had to sweat it for about 24 hours before all was calm and cool.

So what did I learn from this situation, and what can I leave you with from all this?   First, change your password on your Facebook page routinely.  Facebook has suffered a string of attacks lately where people have hacked in to user accounts. What they are looking for is financial information.  Other hackers are there to just cause mischief, which can cause you a lot of heartache as well, but the loss of hard-earned money is always a stress agent. Second, it is better to do business online with credit cards rather than debit cards.  When your debit card information is stolen, that means actual fund are being taken out of your checking/saving.  If you were using a credit card, the money is not actually coming right out of your pocket. The credit card companies are the ones taking the immediate hit. Reporting fraudulent activity to them usually results in them reimbursing you for the lost funds and them going after the crooks.  This is not always the case, but it is much easier to dispute credit card charges and not pay them until they are resolved than to look in to your checking and savings account and realize you have gone from okay to destitution in one fell swoop.  Third, if you do use your debit card OR credit card for purchases at Facebook or any other site, do not allow your information to be stored there.  Remove it and use it only when you make a purchase.  Too many times have I heard people say that they have seen small, yet odd purchases on their cards. My hackers got me for several large amounts. Most of these hackers are now only getting a few dollars at a time so that you do not notice it.  You can remove payment information in Facebook by going to the settings tab and then clicking on payments.  Once there, click on account settings and go from there.  I promise, it could cost you a lot of money if you don’t clear that information out. 

Here are some websites that offer information on how to protect yourself from debit card fraud:
http://www.bankrate.com/financing/credit-cards/11-ways-to-protect-against-debit-card-fraud/

Whatever you do, be smart and alert.  I was fortunate, but this could have turned out much differently. 

Dean Jeff Wells


No comments:

Post a Comment