Bang!Zoom! Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 To preface...I'm West Coast right now, Mr. Charming is on the other. We share this credit card account. It has happened in the past, when we travel and use this account, it can generate a phone call if there are unexpected sudden changes, and I'm talking within 5 to 10 minutes of using it, they call to check to see if it's a legitimate charge..a few times it *was NOT* - things like train tickets in India, once someone got ahold of it for a gaming credit...so cool, right? One totally wracks their brain after a call like that.."when was the card out of my sight?" ..was it an online interception, stuff like that; I'm sure we all have shared stories like that. We've had that card shut off in ten seconds flat, and they have to overnight us a new one. Drive ya up the wall, but we've always been notified or called. I don't like using it when we have unusual travel/expense patterns like we do right now. To keep us all on the same page for accounting, we are keeping it simple and tracking everything through this one line. This backstory kindly presented to set the stage for my blowout today, I about lost it, now was I out of line here? Guy takes my card just barely out of sight, I did lose visual on the card, but I see him motion to swipe it 3 freaking times, at swipe 2, I spoke up.."Is there some kind of problem here?" He says, "It didn't go through." (my blood pressure kicks in, and then swipe three on the machine). He hands it back to me, and I said, "Listen pal, you are gonna give me receipts for the last 2 swipes though that machine." "It didn't go through." "Then give me the receipts that say so." Now he's got an attitude and so do I. He hands me the cancelled receipts and I see him mutter, "What a )(&(*&" under his breath. Would you guys have flown off the handle? Was I just low on blood sugar or what? When Prince Charming called tonight, I told him to call them and follow up on it online, to be aware and watch for anything weird. Overreaction or normal? Where am I on a scale of 1-10 here, 10 being totally touchy and 1 being a normal grump to the dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 With all the reports of fraudulent use, I think your reaction was reasonable. You don't know that guy- how can you be sure he didn't have a device that swiped your card for his use? It's a hassle to deal with having your card hijacked. Better safe than sorry. I had a young guy do that in Hollister- where it's already so dark I can't see, and the scent is so strong and the music is so loud that it's hard to focus on ANYTHING. At the third swipe I was not amused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 It seems an over reaction to me, but then we've never had credit card fraud on any of our cards. ETA: I've never had a credit card company call me about a charge either. We must be rather boring people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Having been the person swiping the card when it wouldn't go through for some reason, I'd find your response a little over the top. I think he was out of line too, but I wasn't there to hear your tone. ;) Most of the things that people worry about like this aren't the things that are actually risky. People would cross out the last 4 numbers of their credit card on their receipt before they would hand it back to me when I was bartending. Uhhh...your entire credit card number is still visible to me and anyone else able to open that check on my computer system. I was a little uncomfortable pointing that out to people who already assumed I was looking to steal their credit card info, so I rarely shared that information. My family has had major merchants or banks lose large batches of card numbers, including one of our cards, on multiple occasions. We've had family members commit credit fraud. In my time working in restaurants, and my husband's nearly two decades managing restaurants, we can only think of a few incidents with employees and credit cards. Out of those very few incidents, they all involved the employee changing the tip amount. None of these incidents would have fit this scenario, although I'm sure someone somewhere could come up with a scam where they would need to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I think your response was a bit excessive. Cards often have to be swiped more than once before they go through. That said, the guy shouldn't have called you a name out loud, even if he whispered it, because that's incredibly unprofessional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Him swiping it multiple times wouldn't allow him to steal your card anyway...at most you would have multiple charges at that restaruant, but what would be his motive for that? I think you overreacted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 It seems an over reaction to me, but then we've never had credit card fraud on any of our cards. ETA: I've never had a credit card company call me about a charge either. We must be rather boring people. :iagree: In 14 years of having a CC mine has never been stolen and i use it all the time, so maybe it I would have the same reaction in your shoes, but I have had to swipe my card several times at the grocery store to get it to go through. A few times I have seen a few holds of $1, but once the charge goes through then only one charge is made. We have only been called a few times for large purchases, but they have always been ours. Maybe go to using cash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 As someone who has had to deal w/ cc fraud, I don't think you over reacted at all! His reaction-well, his momma should have taught him better manners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Skimming is the theft of credit card information used in an otherwise legitimate transaction. The thief can procure a victim's credit card number using basic methods such as photocopying receipts or more advanced methods such as using a small electronic device (skimmer) to swipe and store hundreds of victims’ credit card numbers. Common scenarios for skimming are restaurants or bars where the skimmer has possession of the victim's credit card out of their immediate view.[9] The thief may also use a small keypad to unobtrusively transcribe the 3 or 4 digit Card Security Code which is not present on the magnetic strip. Call centers are another area where skimming can easily occur.[10] Skimming can also occur at merchants such as gas stations when a third-party card-reading device is installed either out*side or inside a fuel dispenser or other card-swiping terminal. This device allows a thief to capture a customer’s cred*it and debit card information, including their PIN, with each card swipe.[11] Skimming can and does happen right before our eyes- it's scary how often it's happening. Last holiday season the major mall where we shop had signs posted warning us NOT to let clerks handle our card out of our sight. But some stores don't have terminals that customers use and you have to hand your card over- and can't see what they're doing with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I don't think you over reacted at all. I was a victim of credit card fraud and it was so stressful and I dread the thought of dealing with the idiots at Wells Fargo again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Ya, this totally could be on me being a touchy jerk, interesting comments-thanks for the perspectives. I am really, really careful about keeping receipts and reconciling; when I saw him tearing those papers off and running it again, and then again- I was like, wow..what in the world is going here? He would not have given them to me had I not asked what they were, but I'm solid on this guy not paying attention to what he was doing, whether the card reader was at fault, data line, whatever..I don't know why it happened at all. The rapid swiping jangled me good, I think this particular cc just gets on my nerves, I feel like someone's mom is watching me-this whole thing could be just pure paranoia on my end. I don't trust it to start with. :chillpill: I'm fairly resigned to the idea and ways of a capture of a CC number; what the main issue was for me was the rapid swiping, I worry about it generating a phone call/freeze/ re-mailing of the card - we're not in a place where that would be a walk in the park with everything pre-planned and time-sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I would call it over reacting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reign Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I would have just asked kindly for the receipts. He shouldn't call you names though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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