Forwarded on behalf of Ed Capullo...
NEW TWIST ON THEFT IDENTITY SCENE 1 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 countercashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. No exchange ofwords --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology. Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet is 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 2 A woman went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that she had called in. She paid by using her Visa Check Card which, of course, was linked directly to her checking account. The young man behind the counter took her 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. She noticed the phone because it is the same model she had, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then she heard a click that sounded like the sounds when she takes a picture. He then gave her back her card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons. Meanwhile, she was thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of oblivious to what was really going on. It then dawned on her: the only thing there was was her credit card, so now she was paying close attention to what he was doing. He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. About five seconds later, she heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved. Now she was standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of her credit card. Yes, he played it off well, because had she not had the same kind of phone, she probably would never have known what happened. Needless to say, she immediately canceled that card as she was walking out of store. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Whenever you are using your credit cards, take caution, be vigilant 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. Identity thiefs can get you even when you are careful, but don't make it easy for them. SCENE 3 A man 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 didhe have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000! Why were there no callsa "warning bell" with some credit card companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one! JUST BE AWARE ________________________________ FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500 The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003 _________________________________ _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
