So when you say "secure," you mean not?

A few days ago, my credit card company called me. At the time, I didn't know it was them calling and I wasn't in a place where I could take a call, so I let it go to voicemail. I'm the type of person who forgets they have voicemail, and even though I see that little 'v' at the top of my cell phone screen, I won't be prompted to check my voicemail until days later. Although, this way, when I tell people I never got their voicemails, I am technically not lying, but that's irrelevant.

So yesterday, I log on to my credit card website to pay the bill. I log in as normal, but it tells me I can't access my account information until certain charges are validated. This, and only this, prompts me to check my voicemails (I will return your call ASAP). Sure enough, one is from the credit card company wanting to validate charges. Hmm...I might want to make a note of checking my voicemails more often. Anyway, on the website, they gave me a link to visit for fraud protection. I click on the link and it brings me to a site to verify information. At this point, I am paranoid that someone has stolen my information and at that moment, is logging every single keystroke. I verify all my important information (so my identity will be THAT much easier to steal...I mean they have the last four digits of my social!) and it brings up two different charges made to my account that needed to be validated. Both are almost exactly the same amount, around $84, were made out of the country at an Esso station, and were made on the same day. I haven't been out of the U.S. in years, and I have nowhere to put $168 in gas, so it's safe to say that someone stole my credit card number.

The big question is how the hell did it get stolen? My card is still in my wallet, and hardly ever leaves my wallet. The last time I used it was around Christmas...online. Now the websites I purchased from were all secure sites...at least I thought. I mean, doesn't that little yellow lock thing at the bottom of the screen mean it is secure from gas guzzling foreigners wanting to steal my credit card number?? Either way, I'm confused and really paranoid. I mean someone could be in the process of stealing my whole identity...or my whole life...which doesn't really amount to much financially, but still!! WTF!?