Tag Archives: Finance

You Can’t Trust Anything Anymore

17 Monday Aug 2026

Posted by in Life, Uncategorized

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I got a phone call yesterday from someone claiming to be from my financial institution. They started asking personal questions about my banking account, my email address, and other information.

I immediately became suspicious.

I told the man on the other end, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m going to hang up with you and call my banking institution myself. I would rather initiate the phone call than receive one from somebody I have no clue who they are.”

Anyone can call you and claim to be your bank. There’s really no way for you to know for sure who is on the other end of the phone.

He told me, “Well, it will just come right back to me.”

I told him, “Well, I’ll take that chance.”

I immediately checked my banking app on my phone. I didn’t notice any fraudulent charges, especially the $190 charge he claimed had been made on my account.

I then called my financial institution myself and explained that I had just received a phone call claiming there was a fraudulent charge on my account.

That’s when I found out there actually were fraudulent charges.

In fact, there were multiple charges, and thankfully, my bank had already blocked them.

They immediately stopped my debit card from being used and told me that a new card was on the way. The whole thing had been handled in probably 20 minutes.

At that point, I was thinking, “Okay, everything is good. They caught it, the charges were blocked, and I have a new card coming.”

Then I started thinking about everything else.

I had just gone through this recently when I got a new card, and I remember all the trouble I had trying to reconnect all of my automatic payments to the new card. Now I was going to have to do it all over again.

And then I remembered something.

Not long ago, I received a suspicious email with a PDF document attached. It was supposedly a bill from a company I didn’t recognize.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

I opened the email.

I downloaded the PDF.

And now I’m pretty sure that’s where all of this started.

I’m not saying that’s definitely how they got my information, but it sure makes me wonder.

So, there I was, sitting around thinking that everything was taken care of. My fraudulent charges had been blocked, my card had been canceled, and my replacement card was supposedly on its way. All I had to do was wait seven to ten business days and then spend the next several hours reconnecting all of my automatic payments.

Then today, I received a text message concerning my wife’s debit card.

Apparently, there were at least four fraudulent charges on her account.

Now I’m really confused.

When I called the bank, they couldn’t help me because the card is in my wife’s name. Unfortunately, she’s not home right now. She’s taking our daughter to the doctor, so I don’t know when we’ll be able to get everything straightened out.

Thankfully, they have her card blocked, too.

So, at the moment, neither one of us has a usable debit card.

That’s comforting.

Nothing says “financial security” quite like looking at your wallet and realizing both of your debit cards are basically decorative pieces of plastic.

The whole situation has me thinking about just how difficult it is to know what you can trust anymore.

A phone call?

Could be a scam.

A text message?

Could be a scam.

An email?

Could be a scam.

A bill that arrives with a PDF attached?

Apparently, that can be a scam, too.

At this point, I’m beginning to feel like if somebody knocks on my front door and says they’re delivering a package, I’m going to ask them to prove they aren’t trying to steal my identity.

Sadly, we’ve gotten to the point where you can’t simply trust something because it looks legitimate.

You have to question everything.

You have to disregard everything you’ve been taught about trusting people and verify everything for yourself.

If someone calls claiming to be your bank, hang up and call the bank yourself.

If you get an email you aren’t expecting, don’t open the attachment.

If you get a text about a charge you don’t recognize, don’t click the link. Contact the company directly.

And if somebody tells you, “Don’t worry, I’m from your bank,” that’s probably the exact moment you should start worrying.

I’ve always tried to believe that most people are good and that you shouldn’t automatically assume everyone is out to get you.

Unfortunately, these days, it seems like the safest thing to do is assume nobody is who they say they are until you verify it yourself.

And apparently, even then, you better double-check.

When Did Getting Older Become a Banking Fee?

19 Sunday Jul 2026

Posted by in Disability, Life, Retirement, Uncategorized

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I’m 62 years old, and until now, I’ve never really felt like I’d been discriminated against because of my age.

I’ve been with the same banking institution for more than twenty years and have never had to pay a monthly service fee. The fees have always existed—I just never found myself in a situation where they applied to me.

When I started working for my last employer back in 1986, the bank was running a promotion that waived all service fees as long as I remained employed there. Over the years, the bank changed ownership several times, but they continued to honor that agreement.

One of the requirements for avoiding the fee was having at least $500 a month deposited electronically into the account. That wasn’t a problem since my entire paycheck was direct deposited every two weeks, and it was well over the minimum.

I retired in the summer of 2018, so the direct deposits stopped. Somehow, though, the fee waiver continued. I wasn’t asking questions.

About six months ago, I received a notice saying the monthly service fee was increasing from $10 to $15. Curious, I called the bank to ask why I had never been charged the original $10 fee. They searched my account, couldn’t find a reason, and simply told me not to worry about it.

So… I didn’t.

That worked out fine until Thursday of last week.

I noticed that beginning in May, I had been charged the new $15 monthly fee. Once again, I called the bank. Once again, no one could explain why it had suddenly started.

The representative did explain how I could avoid the fee. Here were my options:

  • Have at least $500 a month deposited directly into my account. I’m retired. My income comes through my financial advisor, and they don’t use direct deposit. Could I change that? Maybe. Do I want to untangle all of that? Not really.
  • Maintain a minimum balance of $1,500. I’m on a fixed income, so that’s not very realistic.
  • Be between the ages of 17 and 24. Well… I missed that window by about 38 years.
  • Be a current or former member of the military. I appreciate those who have served, but that doesn’t apply to me.

So, unless I’ve overlooked something, if you’re a retired senior citizen on a fixed income, your option is to pay the $15 every month.

Could I switch banks? Sure. But anyone who’s ever changed banks knows it’s about as much fun as a root canal. Every automatic payment, every subscription, every bill has to be updated. And if you’ve ever had your debit card hacked, you already know it can take months to get everything straightened back out.

I’ve left a message with my financial advisor, and I’m hoping they might have a solution that doesn’t involve jumping through flaming hoops.

Some people might wonder why I’m making such a big deal over $15 a month.

Here’s why.

When you’re living on a fixed income, $15 isn’t “just” $15. That’s $180 a year. That’s groceries. That’s medication. That’s gas in the truck. Those dollars matter.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but it seems like banks should reward customers who’ve remained loyal for decades instead of making them feel like they’re being penalized for getting older.