Of buggies and credit cards.
I dropped by the commissary on the way home today because we were in need of toilet paper and sandwich baggies. I left with roughly $80 worth of food. These things happen, arguably, when you don't have a list (or have one and don't follow it), but we really needed everything I picked up, from the pork chops and cake ingredients to the fresh coconut. Really.
Years ago, I remember seeing a bit on Candid Camera (or some spin-off) where one of the actors went into a grocery store and took random items from people's buggies to see how they'd react. It was amusing, of course, because people behaved as though they had already paid for the item, sometimes becoming belligerent.
I didn't do that today.
I was shopping along, intent on remembering everything I needed, when an old woman walked over to my buggy and laid her hand on it. I didn't pay much mind, other than wondering why she was lingering there. I continued shopping, down the aisle, picking up several canned goods and dropping them in the buggy. At the end of the aisle, as I was wondering why they don't carry strawberry-banana applesauce, she walked over and said, "I can't believe you're putting things in my buggy." I looked and, sure enough, there were a few scattered items I hadn't picked up. She was really very polite about it, and followed me back to where I'd deserted my buggy in favor of hers, in the produce aisle.
Thus, paranoid and clinging to my buggy, I finished my shopping and went to check out. I paid, as usual, with my debit card.
A few months ago, I bothered to read my bank information and discovered that I'd get a greater percentage back from my credit union if I used my debit card as a credit card. At that point, I began doing it, and noticed almost immediately that the receipts I was to sign almost without fail had the full credit card number and expiration date on them. I began marking these out when I noticed them.
Then, a bit over a month ago, I got a call from USAA (my credit union, membership of which just screams military) asking me to verify recent purchases on my credit card (not debit in this case). I hadn't used my credit card since before I deployed, when I thought it expedient to invest in a home security system.* I called the bank immediately and they asked if I'd tried to make a $6279.69 payment to someplace, which turned out to be an online Baptist ministry in the Virginia area.** I gulped hard and said no. They said not to worry, that the purchase had been rejected, but two minutes later, someone had used the card to make a $31 purchase from an online auto parts store. I told them I hadn't used the card in months, they removed the purchase from my bill and voided the card.
* Manufactured by Beretta and Glock.
** I'm well aware that this isn't a reflection on all Baptists, but the irony of the first attempted use of my stolen credit card information did not escape me.
Since that time, I've been very mindful of what information is left on my credit card receipts. I know that the thieves to fear at the moment are the high-tech ones, and there's nothing I can do as the end user to protect my information in Mastercard's database, but I still don't like the notion of flirting with small-time crimes of opportunity. The first thing I look at when someone runs my card is the number. If it isn't asterisked out, I scribble until it's unintelligible. Same with the expiration date.
I used to comment to the cashier, "Don't know why they leave that on there," while I self-consciously scribbled away, but the self-consciousness of it has passed. I scribble first, then sign. If they ask questions, I answer them. Like today.
The cashier said, "I thought you had to leave the first few numbers on it, at least."
Doh. Actually, machines usually leave the last few, but that's for the customer's benefit--so he can file the receipt with the proper card--not for the store's benefit. The store has the number and purchase as soon as the card is approved. Their "approval code" is the only number they need. There is absolutely no reason the store needs a copy of the customer's credit card number.
I just said, "You don't need any of it. Trust me."
I must have sounded like I knew what I was talking about, because she just said, rather meekly, "Ok."
That saved me adding, "I do this all the time, and the stores never fail to remove the money from my account. I know you don't need it."
Argh. What is it with merchants, anyhow?
I must say, though, I heard this morning that merchants who accept fraudulently used credit cards end up both eating the lost money and paying a $25 fee to the credit card company for their error. I find this encouraging. It's about time the merchant--who is the only one in the position to demand identification at the time of purchase--is held responsible for what credit card he accepts from whom. That information makes me feel a bit safer than I felt yesterday.
d
