Overdraft protection may allow more money for thieves

by Joe Ducey, ABC15.com

Roseann Herman recently stopped at an ATM to get some cash, with no idea what was about to happen. “I went to get money out and it turns out that three hours later someone else got money out,” Roseann said.

She doesn’t how scammers got her card numbers so she called her bank. “They said someone had been using my debit card and they had my pin.” They took $3,000!

It turns out, the overdraft protection she signed up for worked against her, allowing the thieves to use her debit card number repeatedly. “I thought I had a 500 dollar limit on my ATM. Every time they overdrew my account, my savings account would replenish that.”

The bank would not discuss her case. Roseann filed a fraud claim and finally got most of the money back. But, it should be a learning lesson for all of us involving overdraft protection. While it protects you from bouncing a check, it can also protect a thief who has your card number. It allows them to take repeated amounts of money as your account is replenished with money from your savings account.

So check with your bank to see what your ATM limits are at one ATM and at different machines throughout the day. Check your overdraft protection and make sure it’s what you want