
Trump’s Press Secretary Shows His Private Bank Account and Routing Numbers - tech-historian
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-press-secretary-check.html
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pmiller2
The lack of security on an American bank account is simply appalling. A while
back, I had an anomalous charge come out of my account via an instrument known
as a "demand draft," or "remotely created check." [0, 1] Essentially, this was
a check drawn on my account, without a signature of any kind, and without my
knowledge. All that would have been necessary to create such an instrument was
my account number and routing number.

I was able to catch the charge and dispute it in time to get my money back,
but the money wasn't a big deal. It was only $40, but I wasted more than that
in the value of the time [2] I spent to get it all straightened out.

You see, it turns out that my bank can't just block these remotely created
checks, or even block them from this one single, known, fraudulent [3] source
that tried to steal my $40. Instead, they had to _close my account_ and reopen
another one. I protested that I knew this was going to either cause a late
fee, or I'd miss some random thing that only charged my account infrequently,
but the best they could do was keep the account number temporarily active and
redirected to my new account number, giving me time to switch things over.
And, I ultimately _did_ miss one account when I did my switchovers.
Fortunately, I was able to call the company and get it straightened out right
away, with no harm done.

\---

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_draft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_draft)

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remotely_created_check](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remotely_created_check)

[2]: I used this incident as the basis for my claim in the Equifax settlement,
which I fully expect to never see a dime from, because big corporations don't
suffer consequences when they fail to protect peoples' personal data.

[3]: I was actually able to conclusively prove the entity named on the
instrument was completely fraudulent. Law enforcement isn't all that
interested in $40 worth of fraud, though, so I'm pretty sure they're out there
still doing it.

~~~
systematical
A good reason to not use your checking or debit cards. I only use my credit
cards, then pay them off every month before incurring interest. Makes scanning
your checking account for fraudulent charges easy. I report my credit cards
lost once a year and get new ones in case those have been unknowingly
compromised, kinda like changing my password.

~~~
akiselev
_> I report my credit cards lost once a year and get new ones in case those
have been unknowingly compromised, kinda like changing my password._

I do this with most of my cards every quarter, staggering each card by about
2-3 weeks. Even ten years ago this level of opsec was practically impossible
but nowadays I just log into the bank's app, tap a few buttons, and my digital
wallets are updated with the new credit card instantly. I've got the process
automated for 2/3s of my cards and worst case scenario, I have to walk from a
store that doesn't support tap to pay to an ATM or major retailer for cash
back.

Combined with Privacy.com linked to a secondary bank account for digital
transactions, I'm feeling secure for the first time since I discovered online
shopping.

~~~
pmiller2
I would think reporting your cards stolen once a quarter would be likely to
get your accounts closed. I'm amazed it hasn't happened to you yet.

~~~
akiselev
They don't care as long as my chargebacks are legitimate. I imagine it would
be an issue if my cards really were stolen and used without authorization on a
regular basis instead of at the bottom of a paper shredder basket.

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TechBro8615
> “It’s not a best practice to share that information publicly,” said Eva
> Velasquez, the president and chief executive of the Identity Theft Resource
> Center. “If you don’t have protections in place, there are sophisticated
> schemes and ways someone could access those funds knowing the account and
> routing number and the individual person it belongs to.”

Ah yes, identity theft. Otherwise known as bank robbery. [0]

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E)

~~~
rudiv
The post-apocalyptic quiz broadcast has really come back into relevance
recently. Love Mitchell and Webb. Remain indoors!

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t0ughcritic
anyone else think she way overdid her hair and make up for a public position?

