It seems to be happening to everybody. I finally got caught -- for the first time ever in my life, but I got caught.
I was at The Local, watching both African Cup of Nations Semifinals (the first Match, where Senegal won because of a Tunisia Own-Goal, went long, but I got completely enamored by the Djokovic-Federer Wimbeldon Final, so I decided to not call bars around town and instead just sat and ate a lot). I had paid for everything near the end of the Algeria-Nigeria Game and moved from a table to a bar. As I was about to drink my Coke and water to leave, I got a message on my phone. It was from my bank, or at least a number posing as a bank, asking if I bought something for over $200. My very first thought was that this is a spam message -- and I like to think that many of you would think that same way. But lifting credit card information happens a lot, too. Plus, I thought that if it was lifted, it was lifted from ... The Local, the place I gave my credit card info to. So I decided I should leave now, get home and check, just in case. In retrospect, maybe I had this reflexive fear that the person who stole my credit card number was still there, and that I had to leave there, and that person, because I got scared.
At any rate, I got home and, while peeing in the bathroom, I checked my credit card online, and ... there was a charge I didn't make on my credit card. In fact, there were two. And without any input from me (I had yet to reply to that text, which I realized was in fact real and legitimate), they disputed both charges automatically.
And then came even more surprising things. I reflexively checked my e-mail, and my bank had e-mailed me about not just those two charges I didn't make but the last three (legal) transactions before those two that I did make. And after I got out of the bathroom I checked my phone, only to see that the number I had seen on the text and the e-mail was calling me. I was at first greeted by an automated message, which took its sweet time listing the charges they had flagged. (I can see this as a huge problem if 1] you are freaking out over getting scammed and 2] you are in a situation where you can't stay on the phone while you listen to a voice slowly detailing charges in question.) I indicated I did not make a couple transactions, so I eventually got someone in my credit card's fraud department after, oh, five minutes. (Again, it could be worse, but it could be better, and thank goodness I was at home and had nothing to do.) Getting a human accelerates things; I told them there were two charges I didn't make but the one at The Local I did make, and he told me he is closing down my beloved credit card and expect a new one in ten days. And that's it.
Two big takeaways from this. I asked the fraud rep is there any way I can track down where, and maybe who, lifted my credit card information. Because I am both fearful and downright upset that this happened, and I want revenge, now. But he told me not to because it could have happened anywhere. My first thought, just because of proximity, is The Local. I don't remember ever seeing my waitress ever, for example. But I've been there plenty of times before, and my credit card wasn't stolen then. Also, I plan on watching soccer there in the future, so maybe tweeting or even confronting the manager might not be the smartest thing to do.
But one of the transactions listed on the e-mail was from the time I went to Taco John's Friday. I had always wanted to go there, and this was finally an occasion to eat at a standalone Taco John's, something I had never done before. But I was upcharged for a medium combo when, once I realized this, I could have gotten a small. Add to it the somewhat nonplussed customer service I got there, and I can see some prick working there -- maybe even my cashier? -- putting in a skimmer to skim my credit card number.
However, it's also possible that it got lifted while I was on my data plan at work. You see, there have been a few United FC matches, for Open Cup Games and Friendlies, that have offered a flash sale for season ticketholders like me. But they only last for a few hours, and they have all ended at 4 -- only a half-hour after I get out of work. I have always been afraid of using my credit card on a network outside of my home's in a place outside of the house. But like I said in my previous blog post, I think I have sold my soul to soccer. So, after I clock out, I have logged on and ordered tickets to those Matches with my credit card, which is installed on my phone. When I thought about doing this the first time, I was scared that someone would somehow lift my credit card while I do this. Maybe this was done here?
At any rate I don't know how it got lifted, so maybe it's best to not act on partial info and speculation. (I think, just for my own paranoid sake, I'm going to stay away from those places for a little bit.) That's probably because of my other takeaway: With no prompting from me, my credit card and my bank, of their own volition, flagged charges they deemed suspicious and used every line of communication they had (text, e-mail, call) to ask, essentially, if I have been a victim of credit card theft. Like I said, if this had been at work, I would probably not see this as favorably as I do now. Also, I'm not out of the woods; I hope I'm diligent enough to check all my accounts online in the short term, and I also hope to remember to ask for a credit report, which is free.
But I had a fleeting thought through all of this, about how these guys were just a tad ... oh, intrusive. They knew things about me I didn't know, and they initiated things I had not agreed to. It does come off, at least on its face, as Big Brother-ish. But on the other hand, I remember that, not too long ago, credit card fraud (and identity theft) was so new that the onus on proving you did not charge dubious transactions was on the consumer. I have no idea if this is still the case, but I remember in news stories in the past that people would have to take years and make hundreds of phone calls and letters in order to clear themselves of charges they did not make and clean up their credit report filled with things they did not do. Again, I still need to check in case I need to do something. But right now, it looks like my credit card and my bank automatically trusts me and, in fact, went above and beyond to help me. In that sense, this is not something Big Brother would do -- this is something a guardian angel would do. So, although I feel a little less secure, I feel good that something or somebody out there is looking out for me. And if getting my credit card information stolen is inevitable -- and I've felt for a long time that this was going to happen to everyone, including me -- what has happened so far today is the best they can do, and that is enough.
I was at The Local, watching both African Cup of Nations Semifinals (the first Match, where Senegal won because of a Tunisia Own-Goal, went long, but I got completely enamored by the Djokovic-Federer Wimbeldon Final, so I decided to not call bars around town and instead just sat and ate a lot). I had paid for everything near the end of the Algeria-Nigeria Game and moved from a table to a bar. As I was about to drink my Coke and water to leave, I got a message on my phone. It was from my bank, or at least a number posing as a bank, asking if I bought something for over $200. My very first thought was that this is a spam message -- and I like to think that many of you would think that same way. But lifting credit card information happens a lot, too. Plus, I thought that if it was lifted, it was lifted from ... The Local, the place I gave my credit card info to. So I decided I should leave now, get home and check, just in case. In retrospect, maybe I had this reflexive fear that the person who stole my credit card number was still there, and that I had to leave there, and that person, because I got scared.
At any rate, I got home and, while peeing in the bathroom, I checked my credit card online, and ... there was a charge I didn't make on my credit card. In fact, there were two. And without any input from me (I had yet to reply to that text, which I realized was in fact real and legitimate), they disputed both charges automatically.
And then came even more surprising things. I reflexively checked my e-mail, and my bank had e-mailed me about not just those two charges I didn't make but the last three (legal) transactions before those two that I did make. And after I got out of the bathroom I checked my phone, only to see that the number I had seen on the text and the e-mail was calling me. I was at first greeted by an automated message, which took its sweet time listing the charges they had flagged. (I can see this as a huge problem if 1] you are freaking out over getting scammed and 2] you are in a situation where you can't stay on the phone while you listen to a voice slowly detailing charges in question.) I indicated I did not make a couple transactions, so I eventually got someone in my credit card's fraud department after, oh, five minutes. (Again, it could be worse, but it could be better, and thank goodness I was at home and had nothing to do.) Getting a human accelerates things; I told them there were two charges I didn't make but the one at The Local I did make, and he told me he is closing down my beloved credit card and expect a new one in ten days. And that's it.
Two big takeaways from this. I asked the fraud rep is there any way I can track down where, and maybe who, lifted my credit card information. Because I am both fearful and downright upset that this happened, and I want revenge, now. But he told me not to because it could have happened anywhere. My first thought, just because of proximity, is The Local. I don't remember ever seeing my waitress ever, for example. But I've been there plenty of times before, and my credit card wasn't stolen then. Also, I plan on watching soccer there in the future, so maybe tweeting or even confronting the manager might not be the smartest thing to do.
But one of the transactions listed on the e-mail was from the time I went to Taco John's Friday. I had always wanted to go there, and this was finally an occasion to eat at a standalone Taco John's, something I had never done before. But I was upcharged for a medium combo when, once I realized this, I could have gotten a small. Add to it the somewhat nonplussed customer service I got there, and I can see some prick working there -- maybe even my cashier? -- putting in a skimmer to skim my credit card number.
However, it's also possible that it got lifted while I was on my data plan at work. You see, there have been a few United FC matches, for Open Cup Games and Friendlies, that have offered a flash sale for season ticketholders like me. But they only last for a few hours, and they have all ended at 4 -- only a half-hour after I get out of work. I have always been afraid of using my credit card on a network outside of my home's in a place outside of the house. But like I said in my previous blog post, I think I have sold my soul to soccer. So, after I clock out, I have logged on and ordered tickets to those Matches with my credit card, which is installed on my phone. When I thought about doing this the first time, I was scared that someone would somehow lift my credit card while I do this. Maybe this was done here?
At any rate I don't know how it got lifted, so maybe it's best to not act on partial info and speculation. (I think, just for my own paranoid sake, I'm going to stay away from those places for a little bit.) That's probably because of my other takeaway: With no prompting from me, my credit card and my bank, of their own volition, flagged charges they deemed suspicious and used every line of communication they had (text, e-mail, call) to ask, essentially, if I have been a victim of credit card theft. Like I said, if this had been at work, I would probably not see this as favorably as I do now. Also, I'm not out of the woods; I hope I'm diligent enough to check all my accounts online in the short term, and I also hope to remember to ask for a credit report, which is free.
But I had a fleeting thought through all of this, about how these guys were just a tad ... oh, intrusive. They knew things about me I didn't know, and they initiated things I had not agreed to. It does come off, at least on its face, as Big Brother-ish. But on the other hand, I remember that, not too long ago, credit card fraud (and identity theft) was so new that the onus on proving you did not charge dubious transactions was on the consumer. I have no idea if this is still the case, but I remember in news stories in the past that people would have to take years and make hundreds of phone calls and letters in order to clear themselves of charges they did not make and clean up their credit report filled with things they did not do. Again, I still need to check in case I need to do something. But right now, it looks like my credit card and my bank automatically trusts me and, in fact, went above and beyond to help me. In that sense, this is not something Big Brother would do -- this is something a guardian angel would do. So, although I feel a little less secure, I feel good that something or somebody out there is looking out for me. And if getting my credit card information stolen is inevitable -- and I've felt for a long time that this was going to happen to everyone, including me -- what has happened so far today is the best they can do, and that is enough.
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