Credit Card Fraud
Wed, Dec 20, 2006
Here in the UK, conservative estimates place the cost of credit card fraud at over 600 million pounds per year.
Many people feel much happier about carrying credit and debit cards than cash as it is safer. However, there are many ways in which both can be fraudulently used to run up large bills in your name. A few typical examples are -
Theft of the card: Someone physically steals your credit card or debit card from your bag, car, wallet, etc and then impersonates you to deceptively gain goods or services. Alternatively, they can use it in a “card not present” fraud.
Card-not-present fraud: Your credit card details may be gathered from stealing the card, skimming, credit card receipts or by copying information during a transaction. With the 3 digit security code on the signature strip the fraudster can then easily use this information to purchase via mail order, fax, phone or through the internet, all with YOUR credit card.
Counterfeiting (aka ’skimming’): Here a dishonest employee in a petrol station, coffee shop, etc, runs your card through an electronic device which reads all the information from it’s magnetic strip. This information can then be used for card not present fraud as above.
If you believe your credit card has been lost or stolen -
- Call your credit card issuer immediately to have the card stopped. Generally, you are only liable for the first 50 pounds of fraudulent use though, typically, most credit card companies will waive this fee.
- Check credit reference agencies - alert them to the fact that your credit card has been used fraudulently in order to protect your credit rating.
Steps to prevent credit card fraud -
- Always keep your credit cards safe and be vigilant, watching what cashiers are doing with them.
- Never disclose your PIN number, especially to your credit card company (this is a seperate scam that will be covered later)
- Check your credit card statements thoroughly, looking for any transactions you wern’t expecting to appear.
- Shred your paperwork - some fraudsters will go as far as rummaging through your bin to obtain your personal details.
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In light of the current standings regarding comments in the ‘top commentator’ list, (Aruna 183 – Jon 156) I modestly submit the following pompous, narcissistic, pretentious, conceited, ostentatious act of shameless self promotion!
Being behind a whopping 27 comments, and knowing that not only does the ‘tally’ end today, but also that the owner and purveyor of this fine website will not be around to see the final tally, and that being important because he will devote and entire post to the recognition of top commentators, I have created the following ‘plan’ ‘scheme’ or ‘plot’ to not only claim the prize of highest honor and greatest esteem (that being #1 top commentator), and simultaneously vault an early but unloved post (namely this one) into (at least close to) the top posts category.
This being one of the very first posts ever, and not having received any comment love thus far, gave cause to the “love” I will show it by endowing it with all 27 (28 for good luck) comments that I am in sad deficit!!
jb
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9) really catching up now!!!!
7) apparently .8) is a smiley
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If I didn’t know you I’d delete that lot!
I knew I was tempting the fates when I did this!!
Lucky for me I have some raport here!
Word press actually made me wait about a full minute in between each post, or it warned me… “you are posting to fast… slow down”…
SO patience was the name of the game..
the stats still have not reset?
jb
I think the stats are resetting at 1am GMT - see my comment further down..
yeah, saw that after i posted this!
And the tying comment is…
… a joke I read recently
A man and his wife were invited to a swanky masked Halloween Party. The wife got a terrible headache and told her husband to go to the party alone. He, being a devoted husband, protested, but she argued and said she was going to take some aspirin and go to bed, and there was no need of his good time being spoiled by not going. So he took his costume and away he went.
The wife, after sleeping soundly for one hour, awakened without pain, and as it was still early, she decided to go to the party after all. In as much as her husband did not know what her costume was, she thought she would have some fun by watching her husband to see how he acted when she was not with him.
She joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the dance floor, dancing with every nice girl he could, and copping a little feel here and a little kiss there. His wife moved on up to him and being a rather seductive woman herself, he left his partner high and dry and devoted his time to the new stuff that had just arrived.
She let him go as far as he wished; naturally, since he was her husband. Finally he whispered a little proposition in her ear and she agreed, so off they went to one of the cars and had a little romp.
Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped away and went home and put the costume away and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would make for his behavior. She was sitting up reading when he came in and asked what kind of a time he had.
He said, “Oh, the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when you’re not there.”
Then she asked, “Did you dance much?”
He replied, “I’ll tell you, I never even danced one dance. When I got there, I met Pete, Bill Brown and some other guys, so we went into the den and played poker all evening. But I’ll tell you… the guy I loaned my costume to sure had a real good time!”
…. ooooooops!
BRILLIANT!!!
And now, in honor of all the hoaxes and scams exposed on this site, an old familiar urban legend (at least in the states).
What would Halloween be without “bloody mary”?
The Story: Go into a room with a mirror and turn all the lights off. Bathrooms seem to be perfect for this since they almost always have a mirror and are usually dark at night with the lights off and the door closed. Light a candle, look into the mirror, start chanting “Bloody Mary” . You have to do this 13 times, of course. You should see Bloody Mary behind your left shoulder after the thirteenth time.
Beware, she has been reported to 1.) Kill the person calling her, 2.) Scratch their eyes out, 3.) Drive the person mad or 4.) pull the person into the mirror with her. This is an old legend, it has been around for ages. A folklorist, Janet Langlois, published an essay on the legend back in 1978. At that time, the legend was wide spread across the USA and a popular slumber party ritual done by girls as well as boys. No one knows the true origins of the Bloody Mary tale, she’s been known to be anything from a witch that was killed for practicing witchcraft to a modern day woman killed in a car crash, depending on what part of the country you live in. It was made popular again in the film Urban Legends in 1999.
Scam, ever heard of bloody mary?
just curious.
btw, i have a screenshot of final comments standings for you if you would like!!!
I’ve just taken a screenshot too.. I think I forgot to change the time in Wordpress when the clocks went back so there may still be 24 minutes left!
As for Bloody Mary, in Britain it’s a drink
yeah, well, here as well, but when your 8, alcohol (hopefully) is not the first thing that comes to mind!
I remember starting to do the chant in front of a mirror at a friends house after hearing it.
But the mirror was behind the toilet, and the only reason that I thought of it was because I was standing there peeing.
I didn’t get halfway through the chant before I looked down, considered that on the outside chance that I was visited by this bloody mary and she decided to ‘improvise’ with the scratching, now was not the best time…
anyway, its curious what urban legends take hold in different places..
jb
Send her round to mine - I love having my back scratched
just try it in your mirror, perhaps you could give her a right proper introduction to the UK??
I am sure if anyone over there can do it, it is you!!
P.S. perhaps you will find your virgin at last… Seeing as that she is known for scaring little boys, perhaps meeting a man would be all she needs….
enjoi
jb
Just as well I’m not a liitle boy then..
And I am sure that you can show her that you are not in at least more than one way
Almost Midnight!!! (at least for Scam anyway)
jb
Almost Midnight (again) this time for GMT… I think???
Anyway, I look forward with ‘great’ anticipation to witnessing the fabled rolling over of comment tally!
jb