Fraud Alert

My credit card company goes to great lengths to remind me of how much they protect me with their fraud alert system. The idea, I suppose, is to ensure that I never switch to another card because this one is so safe. Heck, they even reassure me that if my card is stolen or my account hacked, I will not be responsible for any wayward charges.

Their most aggressive "reminding" usually happens when I respond to their calls about suspicious activity on my card (which always turns out to be legitimate Fortier Family spending). They seize the live opportunity to drive their point home that "no other bank would protect me like they do".

This week, my card has been blocked two times because my wife is in Europe buying stuff and I am in California buying stuff and the fraud alert system is very suspicious. I have spent more time than I care to spend speaking to bank employees trying to straighten out our agreed credit arrangement.

Today I got fed up and pointed out this ridiculous, unspoken flaw in their message: this hyper-aggressive fraud alert system is not for my benefit; it is for theirs. Since it is their policy that card holders are not responsible for illegal charges made by credit thieves, they are actually protecting themselves.

Look, I am anti-thief and I'm willing to do my part here. If they need to block my card when they see suspicious activity, I can live with that. I just wish they wouldn't tell me that it is being done to protect me because something doesn't feel right when I am protected from the illegal by the dishonest.