Here is a scam that should scare the hell out of you!

Last week, I was visiting a major manufacturer of ATM and credit card readers, like the ones at convenience stores, gas stations, etc. What thieves are starting to do is to break into a stores and stealing the card readers. In the card readers is a chip that stores all customer credit card info for about a year. These chips are taken out of the card reader in which the information is extracted! I understand that this is a growing problem and is the easiest way for criminals to get credit card information that can be sold.

The above would want to make me change my account numbers twice a year!

 

That is scary. I prefer cash. I like credit cards for online purchases(which I feel are the safest transactions of all). I use CC's in restaurants and things like that but I don't use them for everything for just that reason. I had heard of waiters who had small scanners they could swipe customers cards through but this is worse.

 

Scary, but almost all US financial institutions offer consumer protection against fradulent usage, and will not require individuals to pay should it be determined that fraud occurred. This is a huge win for consumers, as many countries in Asia and elsewhere do not offer this.

 

If people in this country weren't such ******* we'd make identity/CC theft a crime worthy of capital punishment. Death is a great deterrent and proven to lower crime when used appropriately.

 

As a victim of identity theft, as well as the ensuing nightmare, I have to agree with you.

 

As a victim of partial identity theft and the ensuing nightmare (that still hasn't been taken care of), i have to disagree... Everyone makes mistakes... Everyone, at some point in their life, is put in a bad position and wants/needs to get out... Some of those people make the wrong decisions in trying to get out of that bad position...

i'm not sure who said it, but it's a quote to think about: "i never stole anything i didn't need..."

 

If it happen to you. You would never even know, CC companies woulld never let there clients find out about that.

 

and they need to be punished for them.

Obviously capital punishment is not the answer, but the fines should be harsh. Even though for "that one guy" who may have "needed" to do this for whatever reason, the example still needs to be set to prevent it from happening again and again by others.

 

DES, c'mon now, I was really starting to think you were cool. Mistakes are understandable but wreaking havoc and ruin with someone's personal financial information is just plain unforgiveable. Example, I would rather a down-on-their-luck person hold me up at gunpoint at an ATM then screw with credit and what not. The brains it takes to engage in identity theft, what with all the technology needed, etc. is a sign of a habitual criminal, someone looking for the "easy buck", NOT a good person who was up against the wall and had to do that ONE BAD THING in their life to survive. Sorry, doesn't wash with me.

 

Carbee.....'partial identity theft '??? What was stolen? Your nose, legs, hair..What!!!

About a year ago, I gave my ATM card to a waiter for my meal. Three weeks later, I caught a $500 hit on the card one minute later after the swipe for my dinner was done. The waiter gave himself a 'nice tip'! I took this direct to the restaurant, where the owner wrote me a check for the $500 and fired the waiter (In front of me!). I still use my ATM card when dining, but NEVER leave it our of my sight. I will walk to the terminal with the wait person and watch the process.

 

I agree with you to a point. If you are young (ie. under 18), you deserve a second chance if you make ONE mistake (notice-ONE mistake for a second chance. no third chances, fourth chances, etc). there are some that dont deserve second chances depending on the severity and nature of the crime (ie. rapists, murderers) However, the person that comitted this identiy theft probably was older. If you are 30 years old and committing crimes like this (or intentionally comitting any major crime), you are a bad person and deserve to be in jail.

 

TimN88...You forgot one crime: Calling BRUCE names!

 

Hey, i never said criminals shouldn't be punished, i just said that capital punishment for identity theft seemed too harsh...


T69, in some cases, rocket science isn't needed to pull off identity theft... This is all a moot point, though; i agree with you, i'd rather be held up at gun point (again) than have my identity stolen (again)... & usually a good person who is up against the wall and has to do that ONE BAD THING in their life to survive usually has to do MORE than one bad thing... But, that's another story for another thread, on another board, in another lifetime... Don't worry, i'm still cool...


LOL, Peter... It's a long story... Unfortunately, the perpetrator has seemingly vanished (even from the experienced, prying ways of a hired detective) so i'm forced to pay the debts out of my own pocket... i'll clear it up one day...


Tim, i don't think age should play any kind of role in the judging or labeling of a criminal... i've known heartless, cold-blooded criminals half my age; i've also known kind-hearted, good-natured people twice and sometimes three times my age...

 

My wife checks our online balance maybe 3x a week to make sure everything's matching up to our expenses. I think ID theft should be a heavy felony (maybe not death); I don't know what credit/SSN-linked punishments are in store but it should be intense -- people go through hell over credit situations (Bally's Total Fitness "lost" my membership cancellation paperwork I filled out right in front of the manager, then continued to bill an old bank account, then got a crooked collection co. on me... took two years to sort out -- BTW, Bally's and their credit cronies have been fined bigtime by the FTC 3-4x for fraudulent billing practices on tens of thousands of ex-members).

Also, why is it stored for a whole year? Why not one billing cycle, say 4-6 weeks??

 

Just a thought...

The reason it's such a PITA to clear up is because the whole credit system in the US is ludicrous. If you could clear up problems and not have them haunt you for years, the world would be a much better place.

The credit beureus own this country by magical forumulas (that no one knows) that create magical numbers called credit scores that have a ripple effect throughout a person's life. They're untouchable, do what they want, and make your life hell if you're an identity theft victim.

I once argued with a guy from Equifax because somewhere along the line, my credit reports started saying I was born in the 1920s. Even though the reports had the correct birthdate date for years, the guy refused to believe that I wasn't 80+ years old unless I mailed him a copy of my birth certificate. I can only imagine the hoops an ID theft victim has to go through.

Yes, the criminals should be dealt with harshly. More importantly, however, we need to look at how the system handles the problem. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was a step in the right direction, but it's not enough.

 

Ryalex - I was one of those screwed by Bally's as well. They did the same thing and hounded me with collection agencies, etc. I finally told one of their reps that I knew the DA's office had them under investigation for this kind of business practice and the guy screamed obscenities at me and slammed down the phone...never heard from them again...

 

I started searching online when I was trying to fix it and found TONS of stuff on them: FTC, BBB, irate customers - they have several million members, at any given time a LARGE proportion of which are paying dues but not using the club. *That's* where they make their money.

Anyway, after dealing with Bally's for a while (they launder themselves by 'selling' the accounts to their cover co.), I fixed it through Equifax (or the other one)... I paid a few bucks more to use the "Investigate Claim" function and wrote a note about the fraudulent behavior. They emailed me back the next week to notify it was cleared from my record. It was a pain though, as there was more than one occasion I needed cash bad (student) and couldn't get my credit card co. to raise my limit because of the 'negative info' on my report, even though I'd never missed a payment and was paying the whole card off every few mos.

 

That's what you guys get for exercising!! No pain ... no gain !!

 

Peter, this restaurant scam scared me so much, that I stopped eating entirely.

















I lasted about 5 hours.

 

It was "looter guy"
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I agree, these days we are not held responsible for fraudulent charges.


Antony