Card & Debit Card Tips

[Bingo]

      A few instances of the new thief:
 
     A friend went to the local gym and placed his
 belongings in the locker.  After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker. Hmmm.." He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order. Everything looked okay - all cards were in place. A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of $14,000! He called the credit card
 company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make the transactions.
 Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen. "No," he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep - you guessed it
 - a switch had been made. An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards.
 Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to them.  How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a "warning bell" with some credit card companies.  It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one!
 
 SCENE 2.
 A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal
 with his credit card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along.
 Usually, he would just take it and place it in
 his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person. He called the waitress and she looked perplexed. She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man. All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.
 Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time.
   
Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, "assuming" that it has to be theirs.
 
 FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING
 YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU
 AFTER A TRANSACTION!
 SCENE 3:
  Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pickup an order that I had called in.  I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my checking account.
The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure. While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing.
I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture..He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.
 
Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going on. It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I'm paying close attention to what he is doing. He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved. Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my credit card.  Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never
 have known what happened. Needless to say, I immediately canceled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlor.
 
All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times.
 Whenever you are using your credit cards, take
 caution and don't be careless. Notice who is
 standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card.
 
     Be aware of camera phones
 
  When you are in a restaurant and the
 waiter/waitress brings your card and receipt for you to sign, make sure you scratch the number off.
  Some restaurants are using only the last four
 digits, but a lot of them are still putting the
 whole thing on there.
 
  The truth is that they can get you even when you are careful, but don't make it easy for them.
 
     
 
     

[Guardian Angel]

Careful using credit cards at the pump

I myself don't use either card but thought this might be good info to have.  I came today in an email from a friend.


Thought you might like to know people are getting really desperate due to the constantly rising gas prices.  A friend just told me about something that happened to one of his coworkers.  She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like some of  us do). She received her receipt like normal.  However, when she checked her statement, there were 2-$50 charges added in addition to her purchase!!  Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!  To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts their card. Be sure to tell all your friends/family so that this doesn't happen to them!  I had never noticed the clear button but I got gas the other day and sure enough it is there. I will be using it from now on.

[Bingo]

Wow!  Good information to have.

My husband received a letter from Mellon Bank that they will pay two years for an ID theft service. His mother's estate had a small amt of securities held thru their Bank. Their computers were hacked into. His mother passed away ten years ago last month but as executor and one of the heirs, they have info on him that could be compromised.