Emucom

I found out yesterday how easy it would be to pay for purchases at a major pharmacy chain using a credit card. My mom gave me her card to run down to the pharmacy for something yesterday. I brought my purchases to the counter and i swiped her card into the swiper, pushed "credit" and the transaction was complete. There was nothing to sign, as the clerk only handed me a receipt and the transaction was done. I swiped it myself, so there was no clerk checking cards or anything for verification of who i was, etc. Just swiped and left. Scares me if someone were to steal my card.

Suzie

Isn't there a new minimum where they don't ask for ID anymore. Like those tap and go places where you tap your tiny visa card and then run out to catch up with the rest of the marathon runners (that’s the commercial anyway)? What about at the gas station? No one asks to see my ID when I use a credit card there.

Suzie

By the way you don’t really have to be any more scared than usual as you are not responsible for credit charges that were not yours. I have online access to my credit card history so it’s easy to check activity.

OO

Emucon...I've run into that in some pharmacies but there's a dollar amount it must be below. Seems to me it was anything less than $20.

Suzie...I had a question for you re Wes on TA in my last post. Do you recall the title of the TA thread that talked about this scam?

Suzie

Wow OO I think they pulled it. I had made a few posts to it but I can’t find it in my history and I can’t find it in Wes’s. It was like last Thurs or Fri when it posted too. Must have gone bad and TA pulled it. That’s odd because TA let’s lots of stuff go. Usually they just pull the offending post instead of the whole thread.

OO

Weird, Suzie. I wonder if he had second thoughts about posting it? Do you recall the gist of his note now?

Suzie

It was exactly like you posted. Then there were responses thanking him and then, just like here, there was someone who couldn't believe anyone could be so dumb And then I along with others pointed out that people are not always on guard when they are away from home or they may be tired and distracted which is why scammers do it. I wonder if after I left the thread just got out of control with name calling or some other type of bad behavior. When I posted last it hadn’t gotten to a point where it would have been worthy of being pulled.

Anyway he described the event just as you did except maybe it wasn’t the same names i.e. Williams

alanRow

I must be missing something - are you saying that merely by knowing the main 16 digit number on a CC you could go off on a spending spree?

LoveItaly

HI OO, the day after you posted the beginning of this thread I read the same thing on the USAToday/Travel website. Just FYI. Take care and thanks for reminding everyone to be cautious. A reminder or two is always good.

OO

Thanks Suzie. I guess this is just the latest wrinkle for scammers. Once this gets enough air time their success rate will drop and they'll move on. Meantime everyone smart enough to know better, good for you...everyone else, now you know.

OO

Thanks LoveItaly, I missed that. I guess it's fairly new and already pretty widespread. We heard it for the first time last week with the unfortunate incident here.

LoveItaly

HI OO, I am sorry I didn't post to you the morning I saw it on the USAToday/Travel sight. I immediately thought of your post here on Fodor's and smiled as your post was something like 24 hours ahead of the USAToday article.

And I sure agree, the public goes in and out of hotel lobbies all the time and they are not necessarily hotel or convention guest. I do at times, to use the restroom. Unless one looks "strange" security cannot control who is in a hotel especially in the lobby etc. Especially true where restaurants are attached to hotels and the public restrooms are off of the hotel lobby area.

FainaAgain

Suerich: yes, an operator SHOULD ask for both names. Do we always do at work what we are supposed to do, or do we let some things go...

When I travel, it's usually on budget, so I dont' have those fancy phones with an LCD display where I can see if the call came from outside or it's internal, nor would I pay attention.

You see, it's easier to become a victim when somebody's on vacation.

toedtoes

Alan - if you know the 16 digit number and the expiration date, you can order online and/or via catalogs easily. A lot of sites are now asking for the "security" code on the back of the card, but not all. Gas stations and stores are now starting to ask for the billing address zip code of the CC being used as a security measure, but again not all are doing that.

Ordering online doesn't usually result in CC fraud because most companies have online security measures and it takes a computer-smart crook to get around that to get your CC info.

However, if you hand your card to a waitress/clerk/etc., it is very simple for them to step out of sight and write down the number, name, expiration date and security code of your card. Then they go off and use the card online and/or in stores where they have friends working.