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Forgot Your Credit Card At A Bar Or Restaurant? Don't Be Paranoid: Cancel The Card On Your Terms! -plus- Set-Up On-Line Access To Monitor Your Charges And Make Late Payments/Late Fees A Bad Memory -plus- H&R Block Gets Popped With A Subpoena: Another Example Of Why You Should Never Trust Strangers With Your Key Info Unless You Have To! -plus- Carry A Health Insurance Card? It's Time To "Black Out" Your SSN!!!
January 9, 2003
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Dear Ben: I have a paranoid question for you. Last night I left my credit card at a restaurant. This morning I went back to get it and (fortunately) it was still there. Should I assume that the waitress copied my credit card number and is now charging stuff by phone? Is there a way-without canceling the card-to monitor future purchases?
Dave in Dallas
Dear Dave: You should be paranoid...but don't paint everyone in an honorable profession with the broad brush of mistrust. Paint all strangers that have any potentially sensitive information about you with that "paranoid paint brush." While servers in restaurants (and especially bars) might have vulnerable victims served up to them on a silver platter (or a barstool) on a regular basis, be concerned anytime you put a credit card in the hands of an authorized stranger. I've come across countless examples of credit card number theft at establishments ranging from gas stations to big name retailers at the mall. Larceny knows few boundaries.
The only reason I can think of that would prevent you from wanting to cancel the credit card and have a new one issued is that of total inconvenience. Perhaps you've got multiple accounts set up to be paid using this particular credit card? If you're dead set against canceling the card, then consider investigating the issuing bank's on-line accessibility. The better/more consumer-friendly credit card companies will allow you to view account transaction history-and even make payments-via their secured server-based Internet websites. Not only will you be able to monitor activity on your account, but make late payments (and the ridiculous fees they love to stick you with) a distant memory. Try calling the toll-free customer service number on the back of your credit card or peruse a recent statement to locate your company's correct website address. But before you run off to point-and-click your way to inner (credit card fraud prevention) peace, let me share two more thoughts with you:
- If you're using your potentially "compromised credit card" to make regular payments to other creditors, I hope you've compiled a list of those creditors, along with your account numbers and their customer service phone numbers while you're at it. Since we don't have the luxury of predicting when we're going to be victimized by theft or fraud, it's a good idea to update these "autodebit/autopay" lists frequently, especially if you're faced with the inconvenience of having to cancel your credit cards because the bad guys ripped off your wallet.
- My second thought? Wouldn't it be better to cancel the card on your terms now, than to be lulled into a false sense of security just because some fraudulent activity doesn't show up immediately? You may check up on your account daily for a week or two, but you'll soon forget. If I were you, I'd cancel the card...now!
Dear Ben: I always knew I should do something to alter the fact that I carry my precious Social Security Number with me on my health insurance card, but one of your recent shows finally got me moving to do something about it. I now carry a copy of my insurance card in my wallet, with my Social Security Number "blacked out." Any hospital that wants to get paid badly enough will have to call my insurance company to figure out what my "subscriber number" is. Thanks for lighting that fire under my behind!
Ann H. via e-mail
Dear Ann: Glad to see that one of your New Year's resolutions apparently includes being aggressive about lowering your potential victim profile. Spread the word and help stop the pain of identity theft in 2003, will ya?
Dose of Dover For The Week: I hope you don't become one of the 700,000 Americans expected to victimized by identity theft this year. Remember: Identity thieves aren't always who we expect them to be. A former H&R Block employee in White Plains, NY was charged last week with using critical personal information gathered from clients during the tax preparation process to open bogus credit card accounts and divert tax refund checks. If you've trusted the wrong person or gotten stung, here's a frequently-updated section of my website devoted to helping you regain control: www.bendover.com/idtheft.asp
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