conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

Dude:

This sounds like a problem with your BANK. I mean if you've done all that you can to keep your account secure, the bank is not shutting down these illicit transactions. They aren't doing the investigative work to nail the identity thief. I would change banks forthwith.

I second brother Healy here.

I think you should do more than that.
I think you and Trish should go under the Witness Protection Plan.

Hoping 'n praying lots of money comes your way.

Thirding Cliff. Is there no inkling where/with whom the breach is?

I'd be interested to learn which bank you use--I'll look over your archives in case you've mentioned it before. Bank of America's done right by me--in fact, their paranoia on my behalf has caused annoyance on more than one occasion, but better that than your situation. :-(

Geez, louise! Yes, we have consensus here-- the bank, it needs a'changin'.

In the Chicagoland area, we had years of history with Bank of America and Citibank, and nary an issue. Another recommendation: my dad has a card with BankOne, who called him last week to verify some illicit charges, only an hour or so after they happened-- no loss, only the aggravation of changing cards.

Wow, I am sorry dude, that sucks.
We have the same bank, and though it has happened to Kate and I but only twice in the 6 years we have been with the bank, though our bank account has never been emptied.
Something is fishy though, and the consensus here might be right, though overall our experience with the bank has been good, and they are always prompt in addressing these issue and others for us.
So I don't know.

Thanks, gang.

Yeah, in speaking with the bank, they are puzzled as well. They have some safety and security measures, but these people keep getting past those. So, yeah, no one knows.

They get out account up to snuff quickly.
They are kind and efficient.

But they cannot tell us how to fix the problem, they can offer not solutions. They shrug and smile.

Oy.

Yikes.

As your local financial advisor, I strongly recommend against the mattress and brown paper bag approach. The bank clearly has a problem, perhaps an internal leak. I think you should bank where you sleep. People in Wilmette take money seriously. North Shore Community Bank is pretty good and I think you would like the local feel.

Either way, I would ask to see the bank president of your existing bank and wear your collar when you go in. They should be embarrassed. If it isn't their problem, then someone you trust is taking advantage of you, and no one wants to think about that as a possibility.

All of this really sucks . . . so I thought maybe you could use a bit of levity. Check out this story about identity theft: http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=266381>1=7703

Prayers for your sanity, man.

cash is always the way to go!! plus it absolutely freaks out the cash register attendants, because they have never seen MONEY.