It is getting almost routine. I have my credit card set up to notify me by text message when I make a transaction. A few days ago I received notice that someone was attempting to use my credit card number to make a purchase of over $900 in Ohio. I quickly took steps to report the fraud and protect my credit card. The issuing bank was immediately responsive, cancelled the card and the unauthorized transaction never posted to the card. A few days later I received new cards in the mail, with new numbers. All is well.

It has happened to us several times over the past few years. Each time, we have caught the attempt at fraud and, working with the bank, the situation has been resolved with no harm to us.

I don’t know how the would-be thieves got ahold of my credit card number. The previous transaction with the card had been at a gas station. We don’t use the card that often, so tracking each transaction is easy for us. I’ve heard of skimming that takes place at some gas stations. The purchase was at one of several gas stations we’ve discovered that do not have “pay at the pump” devices, so you go inside to pay for your purchase. The card, however, was never out of my hands. I used a device inside of the gas station to pay for my purchase. It is also possible, and perhaps more probable, that the card number was obtained by someone who was able to get it from an online transaction. We use that card, and only that card, to pay for online purchases and it got a bit more exercise in the time just before Christmas as we made a few purchases.

It is interesting to note that at least three times when attempts at fraud have been caught involving our credit card the attempted payee was a medical provider. It makes me wonder if desperation over high hospital bills is a motivator for crime. I have no particular evidence other than our scant anecdotal experience, but it does make me wonder. Our for-profit medical system in the United States results in a large amount of financial distress for many people. Medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy in our nation and those facing the loss of their homes or other major disruptions from bills they cannot pay become desperate. That desperation does not excuse illegal behavior, but it might explain how someone gets their thinking twisted so far that they don’t consider the victims of their crimes.

Increasingly we operate in a world in transition when it comes to financial transactions. I rarely carry my checkbook with me and we don’t write very many checks. Since we know that our rental home will be our home for just a year or so, we ordered the smallest number of checks available printed with this address. We’ll be going through the change of address process again soon. It used to be that one changed addresses by sending notifications through the mail. When we paid a bill, there was a checkbox on the envelope and a form in the return slip to indicate a change of address. These days address changes are done online. Since our move was accompanied by changes in email addresses as well as our physical address, it was complicated by all of the changes that we had to make. And we are still discovering places where we failed to make the change. Fortunately for us the mail forwarding system has worked well and we paid a small fee for extended forwarding service just in case we missed something. Our Christmas letters informed many of our friends of our new address, but we may have yet another new address by the time they send out their cards next year.

Regardless of our address, however, we have moved away from the use of cash and checks as the primary methods of making financial transactions. It wasn’t long ago that I would physically go to the bank to deposit my pay check and I’d get a bit of cash as I made my deposit. The cash would be spend over the coming month and sometimes I had to make a second trip to the bank to get additional cash for small purchases, items for our children, and other miscellaneous expenses. When we traveled, we would occasionally encounter a gas station that offered a discount for cash purchases and we’d take advantage of the discount. We would use cash for tips in restaurants and often pay for meals with cash. These days, I have cash in my wallet that I know I’ve been carrying for a couple of months and I rarely go to the bank to get cash. If I do, I use an automated teller machine and don’t go into the building. I watch our son when we do things together and he almost never uses cash for any type of purchase. In fact I don’t think he carries cash very much. His debt card is the vehicle for making purchases.

The cards have changed, too. New credit cards no longer have raised numbers that can be copied with a paper and carbon paper system. The information is transferred electronically via a magnetic strip or an electronic chip. Our debt cards work with a tap at some terminals. I can make transactions with my phone and even with my watch, though I haven’t gotten used to those systems yet. The pandemic has prompted some merchants to discourage the use of cash, preferring touchless transaction systems.

I remember many conversations over the years with grandparents and other elders about the pace of change and how much things are not the way they used to be. I guess that now I have become a member of the grandparent generation, my conversations must sound similar to my grandchildren. They will likely never use checks and will not find it strange to make a financial transaction by waving their watch at a machine. The will not have to learn to balance a checkbook, but will need to be alert to preventing fraud with their electronic records.

It is a good thing that they aren’t burdened with all of the memories and experiences that occupy my mind as I make my way in a world of change.