Reprimanded?

I have a dream this year. Not quite as meaningful and vast as MLK's, but important to me none the less. I am really trying to get all of my Christmas shopping done as early as possible. I hoped to be done by December 1. I am very, very close. In this dream I also don't go into many stores. I sit at my computer and complete the majority of my shopping online. I like to wander around aimlessly in stores looking at things (it has always been a stress reliever for me), but I won't buy unless it is a really good deal. I've found over the years that most of the time, I can find a better deal online. As an added bonus this year, American Express now allows you to use points to pay for amazon.com purchases! How cool is that?!

So on Wednesday I was completing an online purchase and the website gave me an error message and said "Transaction could not be completed". This wasn't one of my usual shopping websites like amazon so I tried to resubmit the order. Again, same message. Then my phone rang.

Caller ID said it was an 800 service. I picked it up and said, "Hello?" An automatic voice message came on and said, "This message is for Kevin or Rachel _______.  Press or say 1 if you are Kevin or Rachel.  American Express has discovered recent activity on one of your cards that may be fradulent.  The card ends in XXXX.  Press 1 if you have that card in your possession...."  It went on to ask about that exact charge from that website I was trying to make only seconds earlier.  Talk about Johnny On The Spot!  Sort of creepy if you think about it too much.  I verified that it was in fact me and AmEx allowed me to complete the transaction. 

I really am glad that they are watching out for their customers.  Because I so rarely use my AmEx, their computer system immediately recognized increased activity and called to make sure the card hadn't been stolen. 

But I kinda felt like I was being reprimanded and the subliminal message was "Hey YOU!  Step away from that computer and quit spending so much money.  Your kids have enough toys already!"   

The good news is I am almost done so AmEx can relax.