Two weeks ago we were driving to Wenatchee, Washington, a round trip of about 1,500 miles. On the way my cell phone sounded off -- the credit union calling to tell us that our Mastercard had been "compromised."

No use was made of it, and we got new cards last week, and we promptly made use of them.

Two days ago I got a call from the CU -- would I verify some card purchases? I could and did.

That's the way it should work!

A couple years ago my mother-in-law's card was stolen and she was NEVER called, even after a big-screen TV and an Apple computer were charged to it -- purchases which should have triggered a security response, since she's 87 and such would have been totally out of character when compared to her usual purchases. She paid the $50 maximum she was required to pay (my wife say, "Tell them to whistle for it" but the mil is Old School), businesses are out some big buck$, and my costs went up incremently.

That's NOT the way it should work.

I wondered about a crime cover-up as well. This wasn't done by an unsophisticated person.