Open Letter To The Person Who Hit My Bank Account for $800, Using Venmo

*This post will be updated with further information as we receive it from my bank cybersecurity/intelligence fraud team, as well as the law enforcement (including FBI, as it was internet/phone app wire-transfer crime of $800).*

It seems when my new debit card was sent to replace the expiring one, four months ago, my bank somehow failed to close out my old card - and even though I still have it here in my desk and haven't used it since, on Dec 28th, my bank account was hit for $800 via some money transfer service called Venmo in New York City?

I do not have Venmo, I have never used Venmo - in fact, I didn't even know what Venmo was, until my bank told me, and that in addition to Venmo being based in NYC, they said the funds transfer was apparently also made in NYC.

I haven't been to New York City since 1986, certainly haven't traveled there during COVID, and I know no one there, except the marketing company I'm a contractor with - and I'm 100% certain it's not anyone associated with them.

I didn't know until this afternoon, as it was the first time I checked my bank account since early Monday morning, when I paid two credit card bills, and I have not made any purchases since; in fact, I hadn't used the card since just before Christmas to buy some gift cards for friends at Starbucks and Macy's ... 

Also, as I mentioned, I still have the old expired card in my desk - so clearly, this was done online somehow, though I haven't used the card in four months since it expired, just the new replacement.

And despite the bank's explanation that whoever issued the new card forgot to close the expired one, I still fail to understand how you could use an old, expired card for anything online - especially without physically having the card and the CVC code on the back - nor why my bank just handed out $800 bucks to you using an expired card, which you didn't even physically have, and without the CVC code -  without even flagging it for possible fraud, like they are supposed to do!

The only thing that I can think of is that Google subscriptions stores all your cards online, new and old -  however - you still need to enter your CVC code on the back when you make a purchase - AND - I just checked to make sure I deleted the old card and I had deleted it! 

Also, as readers will recall, I changed emails two years ago, because the previous company I worked for sent out a mass email reporting that an internal employee mass-hacked our PayPal accounts, which that company demanded we use to deposit our paychecks instead of our bank accounts, and gleaned our financial information that way, stealing thousands.

Thus, I quit (there were other strange, unethical issues already), changed emails, closed my PayPal account, then put a security alert on my bank account.  Since then, I only kept this old email for this blog and retail coupons -  never using it for banking or shopping.  

However, the one thing I didn't do is remove the old expired card from this Google account :(

I also just discovered Venmo is owned by PayPal - and even though I closed my PayPal account two years ago, I don't know if they delete your account information afterwards - is it possibly still related?

Another option is the restaurant delivery services we use, who also store your cards, and with some of them, you can only choose the default rather than delete them (but they do say "expired" on old cards). 

Regardless, my bank has admitted their mistake and is taking care of it, and I will know exactly how it happened soon - and I will update this post once we know more.

So fair warning to whomever did this - just in case you read here, because you obviously got my personal information online somehow - local authorities have been contacted and a formal report will be filed tomorrow after the bank has more information.  Also, I have been advised by the bank that since it was theft of over $300 and the crime happened in another state, the FBI will automatically be involved as part of their investigation - so if they catch you, you're in pretty deep shit.

As you can see, I'm not a rich person - you overdrew me until my next pay -  which won't likely be until late February, because I'm a contractor and January is the haitus month for the company I work for.

The money in there was to pay next month's credit card bills and any emergencies, as I don't allow my husband to pay my personal shopping and credit card bills (many were Christmas gifts which included him), so he won't be depositing any money there (even though he wants to, right now lol).

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too!

But you know what?

Seriously, without sarcasm ... God bless you anyway.

Because if you're that desperate, that you'd steal that much from another non-wealthy human being at Christmas, then you obviously need every little bit of divine blessing you can get - especially if authorities catch you - and I'm happy to ask God for that blessing for you - and still press charges - because there should still always be consequences.

I can only hope you at least spent that $800 you stole from me towards your rent or on your children or family for Christmas :(

Otherwise, readers - I know that I've had a lot of weird shit happen to me online that's difficult to believe, and I'm the common denominator - but all I can tell you is I'm not lying, (as you can see by the screen shot, I live in Kentucky, not New York), I'm more careful online now than I ever was after prior experiences, and I'm NOT doing these things myself.

And in fact, my bank has admitted the old expired bank card was never closed when they sent me the new one, for whatever reason, an oversight or glitch. 

So I don't know why this stuff happens so much to me, I'm not creating the drama, just reacting to it - but the fact is, this is the bank's admitted mistake, not mine, and the prior hack was a former employee of my prior company of several coworkers.

I just don't know why stuff like this keeps happening to me, I've been as safe as I can possibly be, even putting extra security alerts on my bank account. :(

Regardless, I'm seriously considering not writing on here at all anymore, and as for shopping, I don't have much choice with COVID (which online thieves of course know) - but it will be limited.

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Updated:  12/31/2020

My bank is refunding the money by day's end.  

The dispute has been verified as fraudulent, and has now been escalated to cybersecurity/intelligence investigation team at my bank.

The original bank person I spoke with corrected the prior information she had given, that both Venmo headquarters were in New York and the crime had been committed in New York, stating she misspoke - the NY tag on the transaction was, in fact, only referring to Venmo headquarters in NYC. 

Local police advised since the crime has now been confirmed by the bank to have been done through the internet, and it was theft over $300 (being $800), to contact the FBI and gave me the address to file: (www.ic3.gov).

Once the location of the recipient of the funds has been determined, if it is in the U.S., I am to re-contact local police, who will contact authorities in that U.S. area, who will assist the FBI in investigation and prosecution.

If the recipient is in a foreign country, FBI alone will work with authorities in that country to handle the investigation and prosecution.  

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Update:  12/31/2020

Screen shot of the complaint filed with the FBI.  

FYI, it is a federal crime to falsely report crime to the FBI, and as you can see, I filed one, so you can see, I'm not making this up and I'm not playing around!