7 On Your Side helps magician get back money that disappeared

If a thief uses your debit card, how can you prove it wasn't you making purchases? A San Francisco man had just that problem.

This was interesting because our viewer also happens to be a magician. His magic didn't work for this problem, but he says the magic of 7 On Your Side did.

Magician David Facer showed an old coin trick where the coin disappears, but with a few rubs of his palms it reappears like magic. Too bad it didn't happen like that in real life.

"This is certainly not something any magic book would have taught me," said Facer.

In real life, all the money disappeared from David's bank account. He found out when Citibank called him asking if he'd been running up charges during the night

"I'm like, unless I'm doing something when I'm asleep, that's not me," said Facer.

He checked his wallet. His debit card was missing. And it was no trick. His new debit card has chip technology. His ATM requires him to insert it and "leave it there" during his transactions. Facer forgot to take the card back.

"I walked away unfortunately with the card inside," said Facer.

He believes someone watched him type his pin, then snatched the card. Someone drained his account, then deposited this phony check, and kept buying. Citibank investigated, but to his shock, denied Facer's fraud claim, saying he could have made those transactions -- including that phony check. He's had the account 14 years-- never made purchases like this-- but says Citibank refused to review surveillance video to find out who did.

"I was at my wit's end," said Facer.

He contacted 7 On Your Side. We asked Citibank to review the case. It did and the bank reversed the decision, returning all of Facer's money, saying: "While the claim was denied initially based on the details provided to us ... it has since been honored."

Facer says this time, magic couldn't have brought back his money

"Unless you call 7 on your side. Because of them, I was able to get my money back," said Facer.

Facer said Citibank reversed the decision after reviewing his 14 year history with the same account. Citibank said it followed all protocols. The takeaway? Make sure you "take away" your chip card after your transactions.