In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 19 Feb 2024 07:52:15 -0800 (PST), trader_4
<
tra...@optonline.net> wrote:
I don't lock my phone but I also don't save any bank login information
in it. I suppose it still exists somewhere in unallocated RAM, until it
gets written over, but I'm thinking no one who finds or steals my phone
will know how to find it. I did have a phone stolen in Greece and
there were no ramifications, other than a missing phone.
He also stole my wallet (from the car), including one debit and one
credit card. One bank, not a famous one, was so stupid I couldn't
cancel the card for 36 hours (all day Saturday until 5PM Sunday Greek
time), because when I called on the phone several times it said the
system was down, and when I found a PC I could use, again, several times
over hours, and also a second person called for me or let me use his
phone, it said that system was down too. I wanted to write them about
this but other than snail mail(or maybe chat that I didnt' think of)
there is no way to write them. So I told the woman on the phone and she
repeated everything back to me, and said she would relay it, but I have
no way afaict to tell if they've fixed things.
Still, I watched all the alerts and then reviewed the statement for both
cards and nothing was charged to them. And I had brought two other
cards, credit and debit, so my vacation was not damaged.
> The window of vulnerability should be very small You can also
>Google erase it online if anyone tries to get it working and has a cloud
>connection.
That would work well when not travelling, but I didn't have my laptop
with me and couldn't but another phone for 3 days.
>I also do NOT use debit for
>> transactions. Easy to limit debit transactions to something you can
>> live with losing - like $50 or $100 - or even $0 so if someone gets
>> your debit card or info they can't rob you blind.
There is something to that, probably good advice, but iirc, though the
money may be out of the account at first, unlike with a credit card, you
can get it back and the same rules about limiting loss to $50 if
reported (within 2 days**) still apply.
Yes, I think that's correct: "How much money can you lose if your debit
card is stolen?
Let's say you lost your debit card or it was stolen. If you notify your
bank or credit union within two business days of discovering the loss or
theft of the card, the bank or credit union can't hold you responsible
for more than the amount of any unauthorized transactions or $50,
whichever is less. Aug 28, 2023"
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-my-money-back-after-i-discover-an-unauthorized-transaction-or-money-missing-from-my-bank-account-en-1017/
This page covers several situations.
Also,
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-debit-cards
If your credit, ATM, or debit card is lost or stolen, federal law limits
your liability for charges made without your permission, but your
protection depends on the type of card — and when you report the loss.
---This says, maybe, something different from the first link:
You report your card’s loss after someone uses it
Credit card: The maximum you might be responsible for is $50
Debit card: What you’re responsible for depends on how quickly you
reported it. [!!]
If someone uses your ATM or debit card before you report it lost or
stolen, what you owe depends on how quickly you report it:
If you report your ATM or debit card lost or stolen… …within 2
business days after you learn about the loss or theft, $50
…more than 2 business days after you learn about the loss or theft,
but within 60 calendar days after your statement is sent to you $500
So it's no worse than I thought plus there is a limit of $500 if
reported within 60 days of receiving the next statement, or maybe the
statement that shows the invalid charges. I did not know about that.
…more than 60 calendar days after your statement is sent to you: All
the money taken from your ATM/debit card account, and possibly more —
for example, money in accounts linked to your debit account. Yikes!
I urge you to read the whole link -- it's not very long -- from the FTC
and dated only 13 months ago. Because I didn't quote everything,
especially where it was silent. If I read it correctly, you actually
have more protection for an ATM or debit card than for a credit card. I
never heard or read that before. I had thought it was the same or less.
**In my story at the top there was a night before I was able to even try
to report it, and i finally reached them about 47 hours after it was
stolen. I see that I was just in time. I'm surprised the cards were not
used. Maybe it's harder to use a stolen card in another country, or at
least in Greece. I suppose the stolen phone was used as a phone, etc.
but not for banking.
I had parked after dark in an entertainment area known to locals as a
place where cars are broken into. That's when the car was broken into. I
went back 2 afternoons later to talk to someone and parked on a block
without stores or the fronts or windows of houses three blocks farther
from that entertainment district in Athens, I was suprised there was
on-street parking so close, and I asked someone walking down the street
who spoke English, and he told me not to park there. Then I looked down
and in the crack between the curb and the sidewalk I saw a row of broken
glass at least 40 feet long, from all the broken car windows. I left.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/synagogue/@37.9791004,23.7186497,45m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en&entry=ttu
There are cars parked there in the picture. Maybe the police cleaned
things up. Imagery c 2024 -- but is that the real date?
Street view otoh shows it almost empty and note the graffiti,
Image Capture sep 2022.
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9791609,23.7186491,3a,75y,143.71h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHnoWZq4VOca5CQ86ZtQlZw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu