My Account Was Hacked
Carolyn Harrison
BEFORE YOU READ:
1. Read the title. What does it mean to when your account is hacked?
2. Look for the following vocabulary in bold italics. If you don’t know the meaning, see if you can figure it out from the context: alerts, unauthorized withdrawal, and attesting.
An Unauthorized Withdrawal
One day, I kept getting alerts on my phone, but I didn’t pay attention to them. When I finally opened my phone, I saw that someone had withdrawn money from my bank account. I did not recognize their name. I decided to go to the bank to see what was going on.
I sat down with the banker, and I told her someone made an unauthorized withdrawal. As the banker and I were discussing my problem, the hackers tried again to make another withdrawal from my account! Someone had hacked my debit card. The banker shut my card down to prevent more withdrawals.
An Investigation and a Refund
Then I signed some legal papers attesting that I did not know the person withdrawing money
from my account. They gave me a security code. They said if the bank called me, I had to know that number. This way, my account would be secure.
Later, the bank called me to say they did an investigation. They could not find the hackers of my account, but they agreed to refund my money.
Beware of Scammers
I want people to know that they should beware of scammers and they should pay attention to notifications on their phone that alert them to a problem.
AFTER YOU READ:
1. Have you ever been hacked? Tell the story.
2. Look at the information in the “Grammar Practice” box. Learn more about the past perfect by studying your own grammar book or looking for grammar exercises
online.
Carolyn Harrison is a student at Delgado Adult Education old, and she has a bucket list. Number two on that list is to finish school! She is married, a mother of 5 adult children, a grandmother of 29 and a great- grandmother of 14. She loves all people, and she loves to read and write.