Did Your Card Buy Someone Else's Groceries?

I bought groceries last week, exactly $10 worth of on-sale granola bars and Sobe drinks for a whopping total of $10. I used the self scan service, and walked out with my receipt and groceries. I was looking at my account balance to see what checks and debits had cleared, and I did not see my $10 amount, several days later (and this grocery store always posts on same or next day to my account). Well, in looking at the receipt - it was not my card that was charged, but an American Express card, which I do not have one of. Nor did I have any card ending in the last 4 digits of 8007 as was on the receipt. I went to the store and the management was baffled - perhaps the checkstand had held onto the previous card and paid for the purchase I made? They had not seen this happen before, and it had not happened to me, either, but the amount was correct, the items were correct, and the American Express pruchase was wrong. It was my receipt, with correct date and time and items, but no charge was made to my account. This type of situation may not be readily reported to a store - since most people tend to throw away receipts, or not look at them like I do. If they don't see a charge come through, they don't worry about it. If they see a receipt with a wrong card, most people would not report it since it won't show up on their card. So, who knows how often this might happen? Check your balances and keep your receipts - it's the only way to prove that your amounts match the amounts that come through as charges. If you get charged twice at the same store (and did not make 2 purchases) and have the correct receipt, perhaps a scanner held onto your card information and used it to buy for the next person in line? You can take your receipt in and let the store know the other charge must be wrong. This is the only way the store can start looking into the potential problem. Until then, no one knows if there is a problem.
http://doubleii.com/credit.html

Keep your credit/debit card receipts

My husband regularly throws out receipts as soon as he uses his credit or debit card. This is dangerous in more than one way. The receipt can be picked up by someone who can try to pull up information on it - perhaps even going back to the store with receipt in hand, and somehow finding a way to get more information or perhaps to increase the amount of purchase - who knows? Many places only put the last 4 digits of a card on the receipts, but it's scary how scammers can still figure out a way to use these receipts. The other problem is that when the charge comes through the bank or credit agency, it may or may not be in the same amount as you remember - sometimes a decimal point is entered in the wrong place, or the number is keyed in wrong. The only proof you have that it's wrong is the receipt. I have had this happen in the past, and having the receipt made it easy to both track and correct. So remember - keep all your debit (although I hope you are running all your debit card purchases as "credit") and credit receipts until you can check your account - then shred the receipts. http://www.doubleii.com/credit.htm

Katrina Scams

There are many scams floating out there concerning Katrina, as there are every time there is a disaster or some event that tugs at people's hearts. There are bogus sites set up to collect funds (for the site owner - not Katrina victims), there are panhandlers who physically say they are collecting funds, there are emails being sent asking for money, asking for help in finding relatives, offering to look for lost relatives, telling you they found one of your long lost relatives, and much more. DO NOT FALL VICTIM to these scams!!! They are set up to make money for the scammer only. They are trying to work your emotions and will stop at nothing to do so. Do NOT reply to these solicitations, do NOT click on site links, do NOT give any money. Links you hit may take you to a porn or viagra site, or worse yet start a download that will allow the scammer access to your information in the computer. Go ONLY to the Red Cross site (or one that is approved by the Red Cross as stated at the Red Cross site) at www.redcross.org, or to the U.S. Humane Society site at www.hsus.org - don't bother with scams that take your money and don't give it where it is needed. http://www.doubleii.com/alerts.html

Check your bank accounts daily! Report any charges that you do not recognize. I found a charge of $703 made in my account and I did not make the charge. I called my bank immediately and my card was canceled right away, and they told me that the charge was made in a store in Texas - I was in Colorado the entire time. I called the business (they had a website that I found on a search). The purchase was made on the Internet and the part was picked up the next day. I asked what matching information they had - they used my credit card number, my address, my phone number, my name - but not the 3 digit number on the back of the card. The store owner asked me if I was white or black, which I thought odd, but said white. He said the people who picked up the part were black. I called the bank with the information and they began an investigation. The bank provisionally credited me back the $703 within days. Having made the purchase as a Visa credit card, I was covered by the Visa fraud protection. I made a police report as well, and the officer said there is a sophisticated device that is handheld - it scans a credit card and takes all information on it. Then the thief only need to pull up phone and address information - easy to do if you are in the phone book, or have information available on the Internet. The only protection you have is to monitor your accounts diligently and run all your transactions as credit (not debit). Keep track of who gets hold of your card, and if possible do not lose sight of your card when you use it - don't let anyone take it away or under a desk area to process it - have it processed in front of you. http://www.doubleii.com/identitytheft.htm