This was just passed on to me. Seems to make a
lot of sense.
SCENE
1: 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. Hmmmmm."
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.
lot of sense.
SCENE
1: 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. Hmmmmm."
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.
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
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
taken away
for even a short period of time. Many people just take back the
credit card
credit card
without even looking at it, thinking 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 pick up 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
flat 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 as 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 phones because
many have
a camera phone these days. 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. I have already
been a victim of
credit card fraud and, believe me, it is not fun. The
truth is that
they can get you even when you are careful, but don't
make it easy for them.
FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU
CAN THINK OF. LET'S GET THE
WORD
OUT!
Emailed by Thomasian Herminio and Passed on by Professor
Joe
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 pick up 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
flat 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 as 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 phones because
many have
a camera phone these days. 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. I have already
been a victim of
credit card fraud and, believe me, it is not fun. The
truth is that
they can get you even when you are careful, but don't
make it easy for them.
FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU
CAN THINK OF. LET'S GET THE
WORD
OUT!
Emailed by Thomasian Herminio and Passed on by Professor
Joe
Published 2/23/05 ALT MSN Group
Web Page: Credit card
