Electronic Theft…One Step Closer to Catchin’ the Bad Guys…

After reading my last post, a friend called me the other day. She asked if I’d eaten at one of my favorite restaurants lately. If you know me at all you know that if I got a chance to eat there, I did … She asked because her sister, and five of her friends, had all eaten at that same restaurant…and then their debit cards were all used in the same way, in the same stores in California where our card had been used. This, my friends, is what the police called, “a clue.” No kidding, that’s the word the detective used. Now after only a few days we are pretty sure our information was “captured” when our debit cards were used to pay for our meal at the restaurant. That information was then sold or transferred to at least one someone who made a card with my account info in the magnetic strip.

I had eaten in that same restaurant again before learning of the connection between someone stealing all our money and having lunch with a friend so I called the friends we ate with the second time. Upon checking on their credit card they learned that there had been no fraudulent activity, but their tip amount was changed so that the the final charge to her account was larger than she had authorized. Did you know that was possible? I didn’t, but it appears that your waiter or waitress can enlarge their tip if they think you went cheap on them. It can be a little or a lot, but if you don’t match your receipt to your statement when it comes, eating out could be costing you much more than you thought you were paying.

Now that we think we may find out who was stealing our information, I’m feeling a little more hopeful. But if you watched the Early Show this morning, you can see how vulnerable all our information is…..your information may be being bought and sold for pennies right now as you read this. Check on their website to see the report about the buying and selling of personal information on the internet.

But of course none of us know what’s going on in the background of our lives. It turns out the friend I had lunch with the day before the Presidential election had used her credit card rather than a debit card like mine. The company that issued her card called her within a few days and asked her if she was using her card in a small town in California. Sound familiar? It sure did to me.

I don’t like alarmist stories and I like those “Danger! Danger!” emails even less so I’m cutting to the chase today. To make your money safer and your life simpler, pay for meals in restaurants with real money… you will recognize it as that green paper the government prints presidential portraits on with numerals in the corners. Would be criminals can’t “capture” that as easily and the tip you leave is the tip they get. Dave Ramsey is right on this one; you will spend less if you pay cash. Another precaution is that you should never let your debit or credit card leave your sight. If it must be scanned at a register away from your table, let your waiter know you’ll be accompanying them to the card reader.

And while we’re on the subject of electronic safety, go change all your computer passwords and your debit or credit card’s PIN. Make sure your computer’s virus protection is working and is up to date. Then change every user name and password that you ever use. Get one of those little spiral notebooks from the dollar store and write down the web site’s URL, your user name, and new password and keep the little book in a safe place. (Note: In the drawer of the desk upon which your computer sits is an easy and obvious choice, but remember that if someone breaks in and steals your computer, they’ll know to look for that book and they WILL take it with them. Then what will you do?

Then after you change all those passwords, come back here and leave a comment that your information is a tiny bit safer now and then treat yourself to lunch….but either pay cash or use a credit card from a company that will alert you of fraudulent activity.

That’s how the world looks from my kitchen sink this Monday morning. Blessings to all of you. Have a great day!

© [Janet Sikes Anderson] and [Kitchen Sink Thoughts], [2009]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Janet Sikes Anderson] and [Kitchen Sink Thoughts] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.