i am starting to think that the mysterious phone numbers showing up on people's phones across america are somehow connected to the myriad of web sites that solicit stories and comments on the numbers. i mean, when a strange number shows up on my phone i sometimes look it up on a search engine, and it can be interesting to land in these mental cages in which others have arrived, looking for answers to paranoid mysteries.

last week i received a call from my bank telling me to call them at 1-800-955-9060 to verify recent credit card activity. i decided against calling that number. it is not the number which appears on the back of my credit card, and a web search for that number led to various confusing pit stops at which others posted contradictory accounts of who owns that number and what happens if you call it.

i called the chase # on my card, and it turns out they put a hold on my card after they declined a perfectly legitimate charge. they said they did this because new york state (where i live) is apparently having an identity theft epidemic. well, that's what the woman i spoke with said.

to be honest it sounded like a sales call for chase's identity theft protection service, which toward the end of the call was pitched to me -- for only $7 a month.

the bank, it seems, is arbitrarily declining purchases. in this case they declined a purchase with a company i've done business with on a regular basis for well over 10 years. it is hard to spot anything suspicious about that transaction. this was a routine charge placed on my card by an internet service provider.

even though i am suspicious of the motives behind my banks recent communication, and even though i already have identity theft protection, i may consider the services my bank offers. it seems they would be able to fix problems more quickly than third parties.