Brief hiatus

CB informed me that she needs to get her blog reading fix, so I should update. Honestly, I figured my latest situation would warrant lots of coversation, but I hesitated, trying to decide how to be general. Basically, a few weeks ago, I noticed some strange charges on my account. I called my bank and it turns out that someone in a state far far away got my number and was cruising some local retailers. Thankfully (and strangely) the charges were covered 100% and were relatively minimal. I was surprised it was so easy to deal with the bank because I've heard some horror stories about people being completely wiped out. The most frustrating and time-consuming factor in this whole situation was 1) having to call about 25 businesses that I do electronic payments with--and to make sure that switching my information was done without missing my scheduled payment; and 2) having no means of "fast" money for about 7 days--I had to write a check to the bank to withdraw money. Sure, in the long run I probably saved even more on impulse buying. So...I wanted to end with some message or tip to all of you who will probably get ripped off in the future, but honestly, there really isn't a cheat sheet of safety information. One person I spoke to never uses pay at the pump. Another idea was to walk your card up to the till at restaurants. But honestly, we are all totally vulnerable. I guess the best tip is to constantly monitor your stuff...(duh).