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CLIFTON, Ohio (WKRC) - In an effort to deliver federal benefits to people, the government set up a debit card called "Direct Express." It is supposed to eliminate the worry of having a check lost or stolen, but it's not foolproof.
Gwen Stemmerding of Clifton relies on Social Security Disability money. She receives monthly payments on a Direct Express debit card and uses that to pay all her bills. But recently, when she tried to buy something, she discovered the money was missing from the card.
"The cashier kept trying to put the card through, and then she said let's try another way with your passcode, your PIN. So I tried my PIN, and my PIN was invalid. Somebody had gotten into my account and stole my money," Stemmerding said.
Money had been put on her Direct Express debit card. Yet it was gone just hours later.
As soon as Stemmerding realized she was the victim of fraud, she immediately notified Direct Express. They canceled the card, sent her another one, but they didn't do anything about replacing the money that was stolen.
"They said, 'Well, there's transactions on here for Saks Fifth Avenue. Somebody transferred $1,000 to JP Morgan Chase.' I said, 'Well, I don't go to Saks and shop for that much, and I don't have a JP Morgan Chase account," Stemmerding said.
In all, more than $1,500 was stolen, even though she never lost the debit card.
"My card was sitting in my wallet, so somehow it was done online or they made a copy of my card and did this. I don't know," she said.
Stemmerding filed a police report and notified Saks Fifth Avenue of the more than $400 fraudulently charged there.
Fortunately, Saks returned that money, but that's all she's received back.
"It's really shaken me to the core that somebody can just reach into your account and take your money out and you have no money to live on or pay your bills," said Stemmerding.
The money put on the debit card comes from a bank account at Comerica Bank. Local 12 notified them of the theft and they immediately contacted Stemmerding and began investigating.
It took a few days and some calls from Stemmerding, but the bank did return all her money.
Although many people use these Direct Express debit cards, the instructions for dealing with theft fail to state you need to notify the bank that issued the card.