Careening

This morning I had a swerving, lurching, tipping to the right kind of morning. My insurance company issues credit cards. I got a call from the fraud protection folks. They noticed some unusual charges on a card our family shares for emergency expenditures; attempts made without the proper expiration date, and charges to businesses I don't usually frequent, in areas not near where I live. How much had been charged? What businesses were they using. How did they get the card number? I was thinking fast. I appreciated the quick response, but I had so much to do to prepare for my school week and was already spread out and focused on reading. So I had to redirect. Shouldn't take 10 minutes.

I listened to the places where charges were made: Savannah- daughter is visiting there this weekend. That's ok. Small town in VA for a gas fill up- other daughter. UnderArmor in Baltimore. Maybe? Health Products in ND... doubt that one's ours but you never know. Another phone call. The card company would put a hold on the cards and reissue new ones immediately if I needed. I didn't want that unless I knew the charges weren't ours. I looked online for the company information for a couple of the charges. A few more phone calls. Now I had a description of four charges not made by our family and the amounts. One company asked if my name was _____ (enter name on the order). Nope. The credit card company had denied the charges because the expiration date and zip code for the card were not entered properly. I now knew which tries on the card were legitimate and which weren't. A few more phone calls and text messages and I confirmed the news with all card users. Forty-five minutes were gone. We were going to have to get new cars.

I ordered new cards, cancelled the violated cards, fell in love with my insurance company all over again, and got back to work.