Monday, October 8, 2007

Warnings & Updates

Alright, I know, I'm supposed to be writing about stuff to go in your Bug In Bag but I've been getting my taxes sorted. (More on that in the next post) I did think it prudent though to get the following out in the meantime...

Here's two latest scams to be aware of with regards to your credit cards.

1) The waiter/service person will use their cell phone camera to take a picture of your card. They're also doing this while your card sits on the counter (remember surfing) while ostensibly making a phone call.

2) They take your card, swipe it under the counter and give you back an expired card belonging to someone else.

The defense for the former is be very aware of cell phones in your presence when you use your card. I even know a female Secret Service Agent at the forefront of ID theft etc who refuses to give her card when in restaurants. She gets cash from an ATM beforehand and pays in cash. She should know, she deals with thousands of victims every week.

The defense for number two is simple...religiously check your card every time it's given back to you.

1 comment:

Marc said...

Most credit card companies allow you to get different card designs. If you get one that stands out you're probably more apt to notice if someone hand you back the wrong card. For instance, while the person executing the scam may be likely to have a plain looking platinum or gold card, it's unlikely that they have a green and blue patterned card like the one in my wallet. There's no law that says a platinum visa has to be a certain color. When I called Chase Bank they sent me an alternate card free of charge.

Of course, the reason I was calling Chase Bank is due to the fact that the first card they sent me was RFID enabled. Although there's no reports of it happening yet, having a card that transmits my personal data through open space doesn't appeal to me. Some MIT grads were able to steal credit card numbers up to 30ft away in test and it's probably not long before some technically inclined criminals do this sort of thing. Frankly, it's amazing how many people don't know that their newer credit cards likely have RFID in them.