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CREDIT CARD Warnings:
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!
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 canceled that card as I was walking out of
the pizza parlor.
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.
March
Jury Rigged: "The scammer calls claiming to work for the local court and claims you've failed to report for jury duty. He tells you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. The victim will often rightly claim they never received the jury duty notification. The scammer then asks the victim for confidential information for 'verification' purposes... the victim's Social Security number, birth date, and sometimes even for credit card numbers and other private information — exactly what the scammer needs to commit identity theft." See Lawlessness