It Was 33 Cents

But that’s what made it so important to look

It was 33 cents.

But that 33 cents made it even more important to check it out.

Our bank flagged it and sent an alert. A charge that small would be easy to ignore. And even easier to assume it was nothing.

But it wasn’t.

When I looked a little closer, I saw another charge from a few days earlier—from Lyft.

We have never used Lyft.

That’s when I knew. It was credit card fraud

This Wasn’t Our First Time

I wish I could say this was unusual for us.

It wasn’t.

Years ago, someone watched us enter our PIN at an airport ATM and used it to withdraw money from our account. The bank replaced it—but the violation of it stuck with me.

Another time, our entire family was at Disney World. We paid for a large meal—over $700—with a credit card. Later, someone used that same card number to run up over $1,000 in charges…including paying their own bills.

We’ve also had a card number stolen at a gas pump.

Different places and different situations. But the result was the same.

What I’ve Learned (The Part No One Likes to Say Out Loud)

You can be careful…and still get hit.

We weren’t careless, and we weren’t ignoring obvious risks.

And yet, it still happened.

Why That 33-Cent Charge Matters

Here’s what I’ve learned over time:

Small charges are often not mistakes. They’re tests.

Fraudsters will run tiny amounts—$0.33, $1.00, $2.17—just to see if the card works and if anyone notices.

If it goes through?

They know the card is active and no one is paying attention.

And that’s when the real damage can start.

The Goal Isn’t What You Think

For a long time, I thought the goal was to prevent fraud completely.

Be careful enough and pay attention enough.

But that’s not realistic anymore.

The real goal is this:

Catch it fast.

What I Do Now (Nothing Complicated)

So, here’s what I do now.

Just a simple 5-minute check that has caught fraud more than once.

And I wrote it down to remind me – and you.

The Basics (If You Don’t Want the Download)

If you don’t download anything, at least do this:

• Don’t ignore small charges

• Check your transactions regularly (weekly is enough)

• Question anything you don’t immediately recognize

• Act right away—don’t “wait and see”

That alone will put you ahead of most people.

A Simple Way to Think About It

I’ve started using this as my filter:

Pause. Verify. Act.

• Pause when something looks even slightly off

• Verify by checking your transactions

• Act immediately if something doesn’t add up

That’s all it takes. So, even if it happens to you, this is a good way to limit the damage.

This Isn’t About Fear

Fraud happens.

It has happened to us more than once.

And every time, we caught it because we were paying attention.

Not perfect, just paying attention. It’s crucial, especially in today’s world!

One Last Thing

If I had ignored that $0.33 charge…

This story might have ended very differently.

P.S. This is part of something I’ve been paying more attention to lately—where money quietly slips through the cracks. Subscriptions, small charges, things we don’t notice until we do. Still working on that and will share more soon.