Using real names on message boards

[Buy1Sell2]

Please use cash

 

[volente_00]

Quote from NihabaAshi:

Volente_00,

I've worked in a restaurant in college one summer and so has my spouse in a different country in college for a few years.

I've seen the good and bad...I've heard about the good and bad.

Don't assume every person you meet is kind hearted and honest.

Crap does happen and will happen.

I say let it happen to someone else and not to me although it has happened to me in the past.

The issue isn't the copy of the credit card number...

The issue is that they have walked away with your credit card to a payment counter with other customers standing at that counter to make payment.

In other words, on some occassions, your credit card number is viewable by anyone at the counter that's a little too noisy.

Therefore, next time you go to pay for something...

Get up and follow the waitress to the payment counter and sign your bill there along with ensuring (if needed) that they aren't being careless with your card.

Heck, I've seen many times where the cashier is having casual conversation with a patron with someone's credit card laying down on the counter in view for other patrons to see (read) if they want or on some computer screen viewable to everybody standing in line or walking by the line that's not there to make a payment.

I sometimes see how many credit card numbers I can memorize of other patrons just because I can see the info...

My max is three credit card numbers memorized.



Mark

PAY CASH ! It is the safest way to pay and saves time as well. Cancel all your cards ! Close all your bank accounts! Keep the cash under your mattress.

 

[HolyGrail]

Quote from Buy1Sell2:

Please use cash

Hell, even checks are not safe. You definitely need to use true cash.

I'll give a perfect example with my company. We paid our telephone bill to AT&T. It went to their regional processing center in St. Louis. Banks have gotten smart. They got the law changed. They ARE NO LONGER RESPONSIBLE FOR FRAUD. If they have positive pay available and you don't use it, if there is fraud, you pay for it.

For those who don't know what positive pay is, the check writer notifies the bank of every check number, date, and amount of every check they write.

Anyway, back to the story. The check I wrote to AT&T was for 674.00. Within two weeks there were 8 checks for 67,493.23 hitting my bank all with the same check number. All from different states as well. Had I not had positive pay those checks would have cleared, and I would be shit out of luck.

 

[NihabaAshi]

Quote from HolyGrail:

Life is too short to worry about crooked waiters or identity theft. You worry about it IF it happens, not before. There is very little you can do to prevent it.

The good crooks have inside people at the issuing banks and utility companies where you pay bills to every month.

I prefer to make it a habit (not worry) in protecting particular confidential information.

Like I said, always review your credit reports, credit card statements, bank statements et cetera...

Just the basic stuff to ensure something odd has occurred.

I don't know about you guys...I read every bill that comes in my mail box.

I don't read it too look for any fraudulent use.

I read it to make sure its accurate and I do occasionally catch an error anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred dollars.

However, on two seperate occassions, I have discover fraudulent use.

I don't worry because I know what's on my bill.

Here's something funny or cool...

It's a law here that if a grocery store rings up the incorrect price on your grocery bill for any particular item...

You get that item free.

My spouse (not me)...catches about $25 bucks worth of errors each month.

She can scan a grocery bill in seconds while standing in the land to look for any errors.

Makes since considering I saw a documentary on TV about how inaccurate the labeling bar codes are being used today in most stores.

Apparently the average person pays each year about $125 extra due to bar code errors.

Most of these errors goes unnoticed unless your my spouse.



Mark

 

[dandxg]

Quote from NihabaAshi:

Restaurants,

Don't forget about the security problems with giving some waitress or waiter your credit card at a restaurant.

They then walk away with it to return later with it and a copy of your bill.

I now always get up and follow the waitress/waiter back to their credit card scanner after hearing about a court case involving a waitress convicted of Identity Theft that had been capturing credit card numbers of patrons that gave her their credit card to pay the bill.

Apparently she wasn't using the cards to make purchases. Instead, she was using the cards to help her and her accomplices to gather additional private info about you for Identity Theft.

Further, you should always change your credit card number every few years along with getting a security code for your account.

Simply, if you call your credit card company and all they ask is your name, mother's maiden name and date of birth...

Your at high risk to any amateur identity thief.

Last of all, check your credit report once per year for any unusual activity especially since your entitled to one free credit report disclosure every 12 months.

Mark

That's a valid concern. Many new credit cards offer the option of a password and a pin code. You should see T Mobile, they won't give my account details until I give them my pin code.

 

[HolyGrail]

Quote from BSAM:

Wait a sec......Bro, what does AT&T do for you for $674??

It was for my company 800 number.

 

[dandxg]

Quote from volente_00:

I agree, they don't even have to run another copy because they have the one that you signed right there. What he is worried about does happen though. My mom once bought something out of town at a vendor in a mall. A few days later someone used her number to order flowers over the net on her account. She did not know till 30 days later when she got the bill and it showed up. Turned out is was the 18 year kid who worked for the vendor who ordered flowers for his girlfriend. So if you are that worried Mark, I suggest you use cash only from here on out. What about checks ? Do you write checks ? Everything one needs is on there from account number to the aba routing number.

In America the law protects you better against fraudulent credit card transactions than fraudulent checks, from my recollection.

 

[dandxg]

Quote from NihabaAshi:

Volente_00,

I've worked in a restaurant in college one summer and so has my spouse in a different country in college for a few years.

I've seen the good and bad...I've heard about the good and bad.

Don't assume every person you meet is kind hearted and honest.

Crap does happen and will happen.

I say let it happen to someone else and not to me although it has happened to me in the past.

The issue isn't the copy of the credit card number...

The issue is that they have walked away with your credit card to a payment counter with other customers standing at that counter to make payment.

In other words, on some occassions, your credit card number is viewable by anyone at the counter that's a little too noisy.

Therefore, next time you go to pay for something...

Get up and follow the waitress to the payment counter and sign your bill there along with ensuring (if needed) that they aren't being careless with your card.

Heck, I've seen many times where the cashier is having casual conversation with a patron with someone's credit card laying down on the counter in view for other patrons to see (read) if they want or on some computer screen viewable to everybody standing in line or walking by the line that's not there to make a payment.

I sometimes see how many credit card numbers I can memorize of other patrons just because I can see the info...

My max is three credit card numbers memorized.



Mark

I am sure all of us the worked in restaurant remember the 7 second rule righ? :eek: I honestly never did it, but I have seen and heard about it being done! :eek:

 

[BSAM]

Quote from dandxg:

In America the law protects you better against fraudulent credit card transactions than fraudulent checks, from my recollection.

Isn't it a 50 buck liability? I think that's what it was, last I knew.

 

[dandxg]

You guys might be interested in JJ Luna's book, How to be invisible, it's great for privacy and stuff like that. No I don't get a kickback, just trying to help out my fellow man. His website is howtobeinvisible.com.