Charity

We got haircuts Saturday, Eric and I--he got a real cut, I got about three inches whacked off the ends of my hair to get rid of the split ends. I'd forgotten that while I don't like going to the hairdresser, I like having a new haircut, and I'm still pleased with even the simple change. Anyway, during my haircut/whack my phone rang, and since my hairdresser was saying "Are you so excited about your wedding?? Is this the longest your hair has ever been??" I merely turned the sound off. Later, in the bookstore (only $40 damage, but that was after a buy-3-get-1-free deal, plus $27 in rewards points, plus 20% off) I tried to listen to it, but for some reason I can't get signal in the Toledo Borders. It works right outside their doors, it works elsewhere in the mall, but not in that store.

I listened to it last night. "This is an important message," it said. "This is your credit card company. We need to check some recent activity on your account. Please call back at _____." So I did. The guy I spoke to asked me for my account number and password, and then described a pharmacy transaction and then an online transaction, a donation to the Red Cross. "And the card is in your possession?" he said. I said yes. "All right, thank you very much. The Red Cross transaction was the one we wanted to check. Have a nice night."

I hung up thoughtfully and told Eric what he'd said. He asked a couple of suspicious questions, such as, "Did you have to go through a menu to talk to a person?" (I hadn't), and I turned over my card and noted that the customer service number there was not the same one that I had just called. "Call the number on the card," Eric said. "I think you just got scammed."

So I did. I went through the menu and gave my account number and password to another guy, and told him why I was calling, and he looked up my account and said, "Yup, that was us." Then he tried to sell me a line of credit, so I know that call was legitimate.

So it wasn't a scam and it's nice that my credit card company is checking on me. But I'm left a little unsettled by the fact that the transaction that triggered the check, the one that didn't fit my pattern, was my Red Cross donation. I suppose this is the case for a lot of people, but still, apparently I need to think a little more about my charity giving.