Many of us have seen this before, but it bears repeating, especially with the ChristmaBe sure to read Scene 3. Quite interesting.
This is a new one. People sure stay busy trying to cheat us, don't they? 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.. Hmm, '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 wit hout 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 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 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 cancelled 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 card 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. FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN THINK OF. LET'S GET THE WORD OUT! JUST BE AWARE Never let your card out of your sight.....check and check again! Scary isn't it…… |
Holy Cow! I will pay more attention from now on! Thank you for posting this.
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These aren't my experience.
I had a call from my credit cared company a month or so ago. I thought it was a scam but listened as she read recent charges - one of which was very high and definitely not mine. She closed my account, sent a confirming e-mail and a new card arrived the following day. |
Good general advice.
Not sure about the guy who had to pay though. One time our credit cards were intercepted in the mail and someone charged up over 10 thousand on them. I didn't know for awhile and when I got my statement I notified the bank. They released me of any charge b/c it was fraudulent. And I don't have any extra protection on them. |
I had the same type of experience. When we dined out, they take your card to the back to swipe it to pay for the bill. Well they also keep a copy of the card and the 3 digit code on the back. A few days later I got a call from the bank and some one was booking flights to Switzerland, buying all kinds of stuff online, etc. While I was at work, they had gone through $3,000+ of my bank account. I had to go in to the bank and sign affidavits that I did not spend that money, and then they put the money back into my account. Don't know if they ever caught them.
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Thank you very much for posting this.
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You should have asked for the manager of the pizza place immediately and told him what had just happened. There's no telling how many other customer's cards this jerk had taken pictures of and then used.
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Being cautious is ALWAYS good advice. I refuse to allow a waitress to take our card to the back room to run it. If she/he says they have to, I get up and follow them. One restaurant owner got upset with me and I informed him that they weren't taking our card out of our sight so he had a choice -- either I went with the card or dinner was free. LOL We paid....
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Thanks for posting!
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Originally Posted by amandasgramma
Being cautious is ALWAYS good advice. I refuse to allow a waitress to take our card to the back room to run it. If she/he says they have to, I get up and follow them. One restaurant owner got upset with me and I informed him that they weren't taking our card out of our sight so he had a choice -- either I went with the card or dinner was free. LOL We paid....
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