MilesTalk

Definitely not.... and I haven't changed any browser settings since it used to work just fine... I didn't logon for quite a while until recently though. Possible the cookie got cleared and now it, for whatever reason, can't set a new one.

Happy

May be you want to do what I have been doing in terms of the monthly fee?

I just ACH enough money in every 3 to 4 months and then replenish it as the total balance comes below $200012. The reason to ACH every few months is to keep the account active as if you do not have Customer-Generated activity for one year, your account would become dormant and then subject to BD's discretion to close your account.

Last year someone posted their household's 2 accounts with $400K total were closed because they had no customer-generated activity for 2 years. That was before the monthly fee was imposed.

sk3

What follows is my BD rant, but bottomline I'm still banking with them and will for the foreseeable future.

Like many, I "parked" a substantial amount in BD many, many years ago. After I received all the bonuses for referrals, direct deposits, etc, I stopped regularly accessing my account online - I didn't see the need since I received monthly statements confirming my balance.

After a period of time (and I apologize, I don't recall how much time actually elapsed), I logged onto my account and was denied access. I initially panicked that I had been locked out of being able to access my funds, but after calling them found out it was just the online access that had been frozen due to my inactivity on the website. They said that I would have been sent notifications of an impending freeze on my assets - and that's when I learned that I needed to have more than interest accrual activity to keep the account "alive".

I inquired how to re-access my online account and was informed that the ONLY way to do it was by receiving a temporary pin and ID via USPS or email.

I've been a victim of identity theft and I'm still dealing with its ramifications 6 years on, and the notion that these temporary pins and IDs would be sent via means which are both deemed unsafe by law enforcement agencies, allowing a potential thief to have everything they need to access my account - is quite disturbing to say the least. I was told there was no other security safeguards in place with regards to using the temp IDs and pins (no additional security questions would be asked, etc). And yes, the funds are FDIC insured, but I've also read that actually recouping your stolen money through FDIC is not exactly a cake walk.

So I decided to just leave it alone and not attempt reactivating my online account, since their automated phone system has worked just fine for me, and I now regularly have account activity via fund transfers initiated by USAA. And I continue to receive the BD monthly statements in the mail.

Just sharing my annoying experience - and posting it to perhaps encourage those who are accessing their online account less and less, to be diligent and make a point to do it regularly. And if by chance there is someone else that has ended up in my predicament and found a work around to re-accessing their online account that didn't entail being sent the temp ID and pin via an unsafe means - I would very much like to hear your story.

Happy

To ease your mind of ID Theft...

Chase does that ALL THE TIME to send temporary password code either to your chosen email or your mobile phone on record based on your choice, when you try to log in from a computer that is not previously recognized by Chase system.

Annoying because it is exactly when I am aboard when I need access to my Chase Online and I would have to rely on the temp password code sent via an "unsecured" method...

The bottom line is, you would still need to use your existing Userid, but with the temp password code / PIN whatever they are called, to access your account and then you enter your usual password. This is Chase' way to "control" account access from un-recognized computer. The funny thing is, once a previously "un-recognized" computer has accessed the account, it then becomes "recognized", even though it is a public computer... So much for the security control... But I have to admit, I have accessed my Chase Online from Net Cafes both in strange lands or on a cruise ship many many many times over the years and so far knock on wood, not a single incident. So I guess Chase has its own security check in place, we just dont really know how it works.

As for BD, I lost my online access once because I haven't logged in for 6 or more months in a row. I regained my access via a PIN emailed to me. Once I got on with the PIN, I then reset my password. Now I log in once every couple months just to make sure the same would not happen again.

Dr Jabadski

Please forgive my ignorance, which means of sending pins and IDs are deemed safe by law enforcement agencies?

Happy

Good question because CO/UA/DL all send PIN via USPS.

Citicards send PIN for cash advance on the credit cards via USPS all the time. They are separate mails from the cards themselves. In fact I think all banks do the same thing with their debit cards if you request one online instead of at the branch.

sk3

I admit to being gunshy due to my past ID theft issues - and to Dr Jabadski, your point is taken. Again, I fully admit to being overly worried than most.

That said, I was told the only procedure available to re-access your account was to receive BOTH a temp userID AND a temp password on one piece of correspondence - and that's what strikes me as absurd and unsafe.

Thanks for sharing this Happy. So you only were sent a temp PIN and were allowed to access the site with your exisitng UserID? And if so, did that occur a long time ago? (I was told a couple of weeks ago that I'd be sent both UserID and PIN).

I've received PINs from financial institutions in the past, via email and USPS, but in those situations the correspondence was purposefully void of other identifiyng numbers, or if they did include another piece of data, it was obscured save the last 4 digits or some such. And it's always seemed to be common practice with my other online financial dealings, that you're asked to confirm your identity with special security questions set up when the account was activated. I would hope BD would be set up similarly...

Happy

It was last year.

BD has security questions too. I know our account has the security questions and from time to time I have to answer them before seeing the Site Key. BD site has a very similar set up as BofA site, both use Site Key, both would ask security questions when conditions trigger it.

Trust me, the ID theft can happen from places seemingly totally innocent. My husband's authorized card of my own Citicard was used only once at a doctor's office. A month later Citi called on a Monday to ask whether he was traveling - because his card (a cone one) was used in Mexico several times over the weekend in various bars and restaurants. Apparently his card info was stolen at the doctor's office because that was the ONLY place he ever used his card in almost a year and had not used it again before Citi called.

Then a month ago we found out his SSN was stolen for filing fraudulent tax return. IRS caught it so the thief did not get the refund check. But we also did not get our refund either. We got a letter from IRS that our return was under review, therefore the refund was withheld pending for the review. We haven't heard anything from IRS in the 45 days the letter specified so we called IRS per instruction, and then were told that he was victim of an ID Theft. Someone filed a fraudulent tax return under his SSN. I am 100% sure his personal data was stolen from medical records that are stored in any of the doctors' offices where all it takes is just one bad person who has access to such records... It is very annoying that we the victims have to deal with IRS and send in the affidavit form 14093 together with ID Proof that he is who he is while IRS's stupid system has given out BILLIONS of refunds to thieves because it does not cross-check with employers' data, and has the stupidest idea to pay tax refund in the form of a Prepaid Debit Card! Oh, IRS said it would take 90 to 120 days to resolve a case...

MilesTalk

That is a great idea.... Now, any advice on how to ACH money in? I can't find anything close on their site.

Dr Jabadski

Thank you very much although I was honestly just asking a question.

Not at all, we should all be as concerned.

That strikes me as absurd also. As Happy mentioned, sending both SEPARATELY makes sense. Sending both together makes NO sense. I too would question a bank whose procedures are to send both together, by ANY means; be it USPS, email or even carrier pigeon!

I do it FROM my regular checking account (which is with a brokerage company). In addition to on-line Bill Pay capabilities they offer an electronic transfer function which can be set up within a few days by inputting the other institution/account/routing information. Once set up it can be used to transfer money in either direction, from or to the checking account and other account.

sk3

Thanks for replying. Maybe I got a bad apple of a phone rep - I'll call again tomorrow to try to verify if I'd be sent just a temp PIN like you received. But if they have changed their policy since you did this last year, and that I will in fact have to receive both a new Userid and PIN at the same time, then I'll ask if they can fax it to me instead. - And I'm so sorry to read about your aggravating ID theft issues!

Set up a funds transfer from another one of your banks into BD. Like I said above, I use USAA, and always without a hitch.

(And actually, it was these fund transfers that I made myself from my other personal checking accounts, that met BD's requirement for the direct deposit bonus. But this was a very long time ago - not sure if this particular "trick" still works).

sk3

I'm so used to being slammed for being overly cautious, I jumped to the wrong conclusion that you were implying that there ARE no safe means. I apologize Dr Jabadski. Because the truth is, no mode is "safe", but safeguards can and should be utilized (like the other financial institutions we've been discussing implement). And thank you for your comments and for concurring with the absurdity.

(But thinking about your amusing carrier pigeon remark - it makes me think of Game of Thrones: BD should send me a raven! )

I'll report back here after my call tomorrow.

Mountain Trader

Isn't there a test at home kit they sell at the drugstores?

Steve M

I'm not sure what you could have been reading. Recovering money stolen from a bank account through FDIC insurance would indeed not be a cake walk because the FDIC provides no such insurance. The FDIC insures bank deposits against the failure of the bank as a whole, and for no other kind of loss. Theft from individual accounts, either through identity theft or even through the fraudulent actions of a bank employee, are not covered by FDIC deposit insurance.

Instead, banks offer a combination of self-insurance and some sort of master insurance policy to protect (them) against large cases of fraud. But their primary means of dealing with identity theft is to have recourse against someone else. That's why most banks won't cash checks for non-customers any more. This way, if a counterfeit check is drawn against your account, the only way it can be turned into money is to deposit it in another bank, in which case they simply reverse the payment of the check in cases of counterfeit or forgery and make it the other bank's problem. Or, if it happens to be deposited by one of their own customers, they go after that other customer. If the theft involves something like an unauthorized wire transfer, it's much more difficult to just undo the transaction.

So, the reason that some people have problems getting their money back that's stolen from a bank account is in cases where their bank can't just pass the buck to someone else, and therefore likely will just have to pay the loss out of their own money (unless it's some huge amount, likely millions of dollars, such that their insurance would cover it).

But none of this has anything to with FDIC coverage, which covers losses due to bank failure only.

sk3

You're absolutely right. In my effort to temper my fear-based comments and criticisms of BD's safety protocols I alluded to the FDIC in defense of Bank Direct. I misspoke and I apologize for that. Thank you for posting the correct information.