What happens if someone hacks your account

I was sitting down for lunch around 12:45pm today, mindlessly checking my email when one caught my attention. 

“You submitted an order in the amount of $686.40 USD to Delta.”

Umm, I certainly did not. I haven’t planned any travel for the rest of the holiday season, in fact. 

Checking all of my accounts, I noticed no such deficit, that is until I looked at the pending transactions. Sure enough, there it was, a purchase for $686.40 siting there, waiting for Delta’s approvals. It might as well have been flashing bright red.

I had been hacked almost $700 right before Christmas.

Now before you freak out, there are things you can do should someone hacks your account. 

1) Call your bank

Calling your financial institution right away can save you a lot of heartache later. Explain the situation with a representative and more often than not, they can assist you with blocking the transaction and save your funds. 

2) Change your passwords

Living in the digital age was supposed to make things safer, but hackers are getting better and better. Once your account has been compromised, take immediate action and change your passcodes right away. 

3) Stay calm

Freaking out won’t do you or anyone any good. The best thing to do after you’ve done everything above is stay calm. Your bank is still the safest place for your funds. Banks are liable for handling fraudulent transactions and, in the worst cases, paying back the customer should money be stolen. 

There are ways to make sure that your accounts are never hacked:

1) Never log in to your personal accounts on public WiFi 

2) Change your passwords and codes regularly and use characters instead of letters

3) Check your bank statements regularly to make sure that you indeed have made all of the purchases on your account. 

4) Trust your intuition 

5) Avoid spam mail like the plague

6) Check websites for security (look for the tiny lock on the search bar. If it’s there, the site is secure.)

So what did I do? I called my bank and they connected me to specialists that are currently correcting the problem. 

I will keep you posted to as to how the situation unfolds.