So apparently I tried to buy an XBox last week in Pittsburgh

[MadImmortalMan]

Second time this year my credit card got spoofed. This shit is unacceptable. Somebody around here is running a swipe scam.

[CountDeMoney]

That's messed up.

Hence, why I don't own credit cards.  Good luck spoofing my check card and my kept-low-on-purpose account balance.

[derspiess]

I see this happen.  A lot.  Trust no one with any of your information, always be careful which online merchants you buy from, and live with the expectation that it's going to happen sometime or another.

I've been lucky.  The only time I had to put through a chargeback on one of my own cards was about 8 years ago when I was out with some friends and the waitress tried to stick me with the bill from the table next to us that left without paying.  Wasn't the end of the world, but it pissed me off to no end once I put 2 & 2 together.

BTW MiM, did they catch the fraud before it hit your account?

[Ideologue]

I see this happen.  A lot.  Trust no one with any of your information, always be careful which online merchants you buy from, and live with the expectation that it's going to happen sometime or another.

I've been lucky.  The only time I had to put through a chargeback on one of my own cards was about 8 years ago when I was out with some friends and the waitress tried to stick me with the bill from the table next to us that left without paying.  Wasn't the end of the world, but it pissed me off to no end once I put 2 & 2 together.

Really?  WTF.

It's not like wait staff eats the loss--or at least, not in any restaurant I can think of, and I don't think management could even try to force them to (it would be like Wal-Mart charging cashiers for any shoplifting that occurred on their shift, or a car dealership charging a salesman for a test drive that ended with the car in a ditch).  So if she did that just for the tip, that's really insane.  If I'm incorrect and it was to cover a $50 loss, she really needs a new job, although I wouldn't expect she'd get one, what with being a fucking thief.

[garbon]

I see this happen.  A lot.  Trust no one with any of your information, always be careful which online merchants you buy from, and live with the expectation that it's going to happen sometime or another.

I've been lucky.  The only time I had to put through a chargeback on one of my own cards was about 8 years ago when I was out with some friends and the waitress tried to stick me with the bill from the table next to us that left without paying.  Wasn't the end of the world, but it pissed me off to no end once I put 2 & 2 together.

Really?  WTF.

It's not like wait staff eats the loss--or at least, not in any restaurant I can think of, and I don't think management could even try to force them to (it would be like Wal-Mart charging cashiers for any shoplifting that occurred on their shift, or a car dealership charging a salesman for a test drive that ended with the car in a ditch).  So if she did that just for the tip, that's really insane.  If I'm incorrect and it was to cover a $50 loss, she really needs a new job, although I wouldn't expect she'd get one, what with being a fucking thief.

When I was a cashier at B&N, it was a big deal if your drawer ended up short. Presumably if it happened enough, one would get fired.

[MadImmortalMan]

BTW MiM, did they catch the fraud before it hit your account?

They declined the charge at the PoS and called me later that day to make sure it wasn't legit, so yeah I'm clear.

I had to get another new account number though. And reset all my subscriptions again. Bleh.

[CountDeMoney]

BTW MiM, did they catch the fraud before it hit your account?

They declined the charge at the PoS and called me later that day to make sure it wasn't legit, so yeah I'm clear.

Some banks are much sharper than others.  They see consistent use locally and then suddenly another state pops up, they kill the transaction immediately.  Wish more banks were as sharp.

[The Larch]

BTW MiM, did they catch the fraud before it hit your account?

They declined the charge at the PoS and called me later that day to make sure it wasn't legit, so yeah I'm clear.

Some banks are much sharper than others.  They see consistent use locally and then suddenly another state pops up, they kill the transaction immediately.  Wish more banks were as sharp.

Which must be a bitch when doing some tourism.

[Ideologue]

I see this happen.  A lot.  Trust no one with any of your information, always be careful which online merchants you buy from, and live with the expectation that it's going to happen sometime or another.

I've been lucky.  The only time I had to put through a chargeback on one of my own cards was about 8 years ago when I was out with some friends and the waitress tried to stick me with the bill from the table next to us that left without paying.  Wasn't the end of the world, but it pissed me off to no end once I put 2 & 2 together.

Really?  WTF.

It's not like wait staff eats the loss--or at least, not in any restaurant I can think of, and I don't think management could even try to force them to (it would be like Wal-Mart charging cashiers for any shoplifting that occurred on their shift, or a car dealership charging a salesman for a test drive that ended with the car in a ditch).  So if she did that just for the tip, that's really insane.  If I'm incorrect and it was to cover a $50 loss, she really needs a new job, although I wouldn't expect she'd get one, what with being a fucking thief.

When I was a cashier at B&N, it was a big deal if your drawer ended up short. Presumably if it happened enough, one would get fired.

Yeah, but that's a totally different situation.  It's pretty rare for tables to dash, but I've seen it happen (a guy did once almost manage to do it to me, but I caught him in the parking lot and got my monies).  While the servers it occurred to were certainly pissed because of their wasted labor, lack of tip, and the theft from their employer, they just told the managers and the check was voided.  Certainly they were never personally blamed.  Hell, they usually got like a free meal or something to cover their lost income.

I guess if it happened routinely to one person, it'd arouse suspicion.  I'm just curious if Spice had any more details on motive and whatnot.

[garbon]

BTW MiM, did they catch the fraud before it hit your account?

They declined the charge at the PoS and called me later that day to make sure it wasn't legit, so yeah I'm clear.

Some banks are much sharper than others.  They see consistent use locally and then suddenly another state pops up, they kill the transaction immediately.  Wish more banks were as sharp.

I guess that's nice when you don't go anywhere.

[garbon]

I guess if it happened routinely to one person, it'd arouse suspicion.  I'm just curious if Spice had any more details on motive and whatnot.

I just generally think he has no idea what he is talking about.

[Tonitrus]

As I was moving from Alaska to California, I tried buying some native art in Whitehorse by credit card (USAA), and within a couple minutes I received a robo-call on my cell (roaming dammit!) about suspicious activity on my card.  Even though I told them I'd be in-transit .  It probably was the amount I spent, though.

It was far more annoying when they shut off my card in Japan (and was much more crazy to try and call them about it...I never was able to).  Good think AmEx didn't seem to care. 

[garbon]

As I was moving from Alaska to California, I tried buying some native art in Whitehorse by credit card (USAA), and within a couple minutes I received a robo-call on my cell (roaming dammit!) about suspicious activity on my card.  Even though I told them I'd be in-transit .  Iit probably was the amount I spent, though.

It was far more annoying when they shut off my card in Japan (and was much more crazy to try and call them about it...I never was able to).  Good think AmEx didn't seem to care. 

Same happened to me when I took a trip to Europe. Told my credit union that I'd be in 5 different countries and even outlined the days. Day 2 in London, my card got frozen but I didn't know till I had shown up in Paris and had no way to pay for my room.

[derspiess]

I guess if it happened routinely to one person, it'd arouse suspicion.  I'm just curious if Spice had any more details on motive and whatnot.

Here's how it went down.

We met another couple at Jillian's to play pool.  We had already had dinner and the other couple had insisted on buying the first two rounds-- then they decided they were done drinking.  So all I had on my tab was a beer and whatever fruity drink the wife had-- it came out to roughly $12 after tip.  This was our only trip to Jillian's that summer.

A few minutes before we left, the table next to us, which had ordered some food and some drinks, gets up & leaves.  I'm not paying much attention, but they apparently left without paying.  The waitress, who seemed a bit new, flipped the hell out when she saw the empty table and ran to get another waitress to ask what she should do. 

Within clear earshot of our table, Waitress #2 tells Waitress #1, "That is a problem, but it's probably something that can be fixed.  Let's go talk to Bill."  I'm guessing Bill was a manager or something.

A few weeks later I'm looking through my checking account statement & see my $12 charge from Jillians plus another for $58 from them for the same date.  I call Jillian's and ask for a manager to try to sort it out, and the manager I spoke with unsympathetically told me to sort it out with my bank.  Which I did, and won the chargeback a few weeks later.

I giggle whenever I drive by the building that used to be Jillian's

[Ideologue]

Damn.  That's what I was thinking, though.  Really, really, really bad management.

I'm glad you got your money back.