Techno-Fool - November 16, 2019
It started on Wednesday evening, or at least I think I did. Son Tom let me know someone by the name of Jan Carrie approached him on Facebook to set up a business deal. Daughter Anna told me that someone by the name of Jan Carrie was trying to convince her that this Jan Carrie was her co-worker! What?!
Thursday morning I posted a warning on Facebook, and one of my kids reported the impersonator and he or she got his/her account deleted. And I changed my privacy settings so that folks can’t see who my Facebook friends are – or at least I think I did. I am hopeless with internet technology.
Hubs mentioned we should make sure we have money in our American bank account here in Green Valley. To do that I have to go to our bank account in Canada – online, of course – and move money to an American account in Canada. And then transfer it to our American account in the USA. It took me a while to figure out how to do that… And I had lots of help from the amazing financial advisor, JFD, who keeps us solvent.
So online I went. My Canadian bank account didn’t recognize my password. I tried to update it and I got sent to page that says “This isn’t working…” I emailed JFD and he gave me the number to call.
And I did. And the person at the call centre said, “May I have your banking card number please!?” My what?! Oh no, I had left it in Canada as I wouldn’t be needing it here in AZ. I told her I could give her my husband’s bank card number or answer one of my security questions. And she said, “Sorry! I can’t help you.”
OK, I can ask my son-in-law when he checks our mail to get the info for me, but this will mean finding my card in our apartment. I THINK I know where I put it. Just like I THINK I know where I put my glasses. Thankfully Neal is calmer than I am about these kind of things.
So, how much money did we have in our American account? I decided to go on-line and check. Guess what? I was locked out of that account too! I phoned the Green Valley branch. They gave me the 1 888 number to call. And I did.
The woman at the call centre asked me what transactions I had recently made. I didn’t have a clue as we rarely use this account. I thought about possibilities. Good Shepherd Church? (No, that’s Mastercard, I remembered.) Cox Internet? (No, that’s Mastercard, I remembered.) So I said to the call centre gal, “Let me ask my husband. Maybe he knows.” The gal said, “Mam – you cannot ask your husband!”
Meanwhile Laur was mouthing to me “Tucson Electric Power!!!” I said to the woman, “I know! Tucson Electric Power!” By this time she was very unconvinced by my authority – and in fact, was getting very irritated. Said she, “Mam, I’m sorry. I cannot help you. You’ll have to go through your bank.” I told her they told me to go through the 1 888 number. And she reiterated, “Mam, I’m sorry. I cannot help you.” And hung up. GAH!
I phoned our local bank again and thankfully the person who picked up – JV – was the person who had set us up four years ago and he told me/us to come in later in the day, which we did. When we arrived he had already been on hold for 20 minutes with the same call centre I had tried to reach earlier in the day.
Shortly after we arrived, the call centre terminated his call – for no reason – and he redialled. Knowing it would be at least another 20 minutes, I sent Laur off to get some money out of our account. Sort of like the midwife telling the husband to boil water – it would give him something to do.
Meanwhile JV and I waited and waited and waited… He was able to assure me that we did have money in the account and what our last transactions were. AND he was able to give me a code word that should allow me to bypass all this nonsense the next I try to call the call centre.
Meanwhile, Laur had been waiting in a line for 15 minutes. Old people take a long time to do their banking. We should know. He finally got to the teller and I noticed he was waiting there a very long time. A very long time. But he eventually came back with an envelope of one dollar bills. (Why we need one dollar bills is a whole other story.)
I told him I was concerned about him – that perhaps he’d been locked out of the account too. Turns out, his bank card was no longer valid because he hadn’t used it in six months. Well, we are only here five and a half months, so you can see how that could happen. He would have to get a new bank card.
Thankfully, the wonderful JV could help with that. He entered all the necessary info and said, “I’ll be right back.” Meanwhile, we were still on hold - listening to call centre music. I said to Laur, “If they answer while he is away, I’m leaning across that desk and picking up.” Laur said in a dead serious voice, “Don’t do that! That is likely a secure line!” Right! Last thing I need is a criminal record…
Neither of us need have worried. No agent answered. JV arrived with Laur’s new card and told us that at this point, it might be easier for me just to call the 1-888 number myself at a different time of day. And we wrote down on a piece of paper all the things I needed to know over and above my bank card number:
-My new code
-My username and password
-Descriptions of the last two transactions
-Where to get a supply of valium. Just kidding about that one. (I do have “calming” tea. It doesn’t work!)
So, it’s Saturday. We’re still locked out of both accounts and will be until at least Monday. I was very grateful to go hiking on Friday – 3000 ft accumulated elevation gain, 10 miles, 7.5 hours. And I listened to some fantastic podcasts. I do see the irony here. I’m surrounded by jaw-dropping vistas, and I’m plugged into technology.
But – in my defense ̶ I was listening to stories from The Moth. It’s a non-profit group based in New York City “dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.” These hour long shows are about many things, by many people, from many cultures. I’m so enchanted by these meaningful stories.
But I did skip this one – “Technology Fails: This week, two stories of when technology really isn't the answer…”
Thursday morning I posted a warning on Facebook, and one of my kids reported the impersonator and he or she got his/her account deleted. And I changed my privacy settings so that folks can’t see who my Facebook friends are – or at least I think I did. I am hopeless with internet technology.
Hubs mentioned we should make sure we have money in our American bank account here in Green Valley. To do that I have to go to our bank account in Canada – online, of course – and move money to an American account in Canada. And then transfer it to our American account in the USA. It took me a while to figure out how to do that… And I had lots of help from the amazing financial advisor, JFD, who keeps us solvent.
So online I went. My Canadian bank account didn’t recognize my password. I tried to update it and I got sent to page that says “This isn’t working…” I emailed JFD and he gave me the number to call.
And I did. And the person at the call centre said, “May I have your banking card number please!?” My what?! Oh no, I had left it in Canada as I wouldn’t be needing it here in AZ. I told her I could give her my husband’s bank card number or answer one of my security questions. And she said, “Sorry! I can’t help you.”
OK, I can ask my son-in-law when he checks our mail to get the info for me, but this will mean finding my card in our apartment. I THINK I know where I put it. Just like I THINK I know where I put my glasses. Thankfully Neal is calmer than I am about these kind of things.
So, how much money did we have in our American account? I decided to go on-line and check. Guess what? I was locked out of that account too! I phoned the Green Valley branch. They gave me the 1 888 number to call. And I did.
The woman at the call centre asked me what transactions I had recently made. I didn’t have a clue as we rarely use this account. I thought about possibilities. Good Shepherd Church? (No, that’s Mastercard, I remembered.) Cox Internet? (No, that’s Mastercard, I remembered.) So I said to the call centre gal, “Let me ask my husband. Maybe he knows.” The gal said, “Mam – you cannot ask your husband!”
Meanwhile Laur was mouthing to me “Tucson Electric Power!!!” I said to the woman, “I know! Tucson Electric Power!” By this time she was very unconvinced by my authority – and in fact, was getting very irritated. Said she, “Mam, I’m sorry. I cannot help you. You’ll have to go through your bank.” I told her they told me to go through the 1 888 number. And she reiterated, “Mam, I’m sorry. I cannot help you.” And hung up. GAH!
I phoned our local bank again and thankfully the person who picked up – JV – was the person who had set us up four years ago and he told me/us to come in later in the day, which we did. When we arrived he had already been on hold for 20 minutes with the same call centre I had tried to reach earlier in the day.
Shortly after we arrived, the call centre terminated his call – for no reason – and he redialled. Knowing it would be at least another 20 minutes, I sent Laur off to get some money out of our account. Sort of like the midwife telling the husband to boil water – it would give him something to do.
Meanwhile JV and I waited and waited and waited… He was able to assure me that we did have money in the account and what our last transactions were. AND he was able to give me a code word that should allow me to bypass all this nonsense the next I try to call the call centre.
Meanwhile, Laur had been waiting in a line for 15 minutes. Old people take a long time to do their banking. We should know. He finally got to the teller and I noticed he was waiting there a very long time. A very long time. But he eventually came back with an envelope of one dollar bills. (Why we need one dollar bills is a whole other story.)
I told him I was concerned about him – that perhaps he’d been locked out of the account too. Turns out, his bank card was no longer valid because he hadn’t used it in six months. Well, we are only here five and a half months, so you can see how that could happen. He would have to get a new bank card.
Thankfully, the wonderful JV could help with that. He entered all the necessary info and said, “I’ll be right back.” Meanwhile, we were still on hold - listening to call centre music. I said to Laur, “If they answer while he is away, I’m leaning across that desk and picking up.” Laur said in a dead serious voice, “Don’t do that! That is likely a secure line!” Right! Last thing I need is a criminal record…
Neither of us need have worried. No agent answered. JV arrived with Laur’s new card and told us that at this point, it might be easier for me just to call the 1-888 number myself at a different time of day. And we wrote down on a piece of paper all the things I needed to know over and above my bank card number:
-My new code
-My username and password
-Descriptions of the last two transactions
-Where to get a supply of valium. Just kidding about that one. (I do have “calming” tea. It doesn’t work!)
So, it’s Saturday. We’re still locked out of both accounts and will be until at least Monday. I was very grateful to go hiking on Friday – 3000 ft accumulated elevation gain, 10 miles, 7.5 hours. And I listened to some fantastic podcasts. I do see the irony here. I’m surrounded by jaw-dropping vistas, and I’m plugged into technology.
But – in my defense ̶ I was listening to stories from The Moth. It’s a non-profit group based in New York City “dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.” These hour long shows are about many things, by many people, from many cultures. I’m so enchanted by these meaningful stories.
But I did skip this one – “Technology Fails: This week, two stories of when technology really isn't the answer…”