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Old 08-21-2010, 02:44 PM   #1
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Would you??

It happened this week here in Maine.

We had a power outage on the peninsula earlier this week. It lasted for about 5 hours. A couple went shopping and bought stuff in three stores in the Haabaar. Remember no electricity- so the shops took their CC numbers to run when power was restored, and today they found out their card was maxed out!!! A couple of thousand bucks worth- .

They got the CC Company on the phone and the police involved. We'll see what happens.

Would you have done that?

I guess trust goes just so far in this world today.
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Old 08-21-2010, 02:58 PM   #2
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Quote:
Would you have done that?
No.
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Old 08-21-2010, 03:10 PM   #3
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Not many people would have done it with any thought given to what could happen. However, with the power out for an extend amount of time usually cc security is the last thing on your mind.

But then again, that's the way we're all having to learn to live. Look over your shoulder constantly and don't trust anybody.

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Old 08-21-2010, 03:41 PM   #4
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Sure, I would have done it and probably not give it a second thought. I'm not sure I see a lot of difference in this and having the waitress take your card from your table to the register to run it because it would only take a second for him/her to snap a photo of it with their cell phone.

I try to update Quicken every few days for at least some early warning but I'm not sure how far we can go to avoid these things.
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Old 08-21-2010, 03:50 PM   #5
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Would you have done that?
We all do every time we make an online, mail order, or telephone purchase with a credit card. You give out the number plus the security code on the back.
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Old 08-21-2010, 05:01 PM   #6
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A couple of years ago when a hurricane came through, we were without power for 14 days. Many business began to open after about the 4th day, but most operated on a "cash basis" until power was restored. However, in that situation many people did not have enough cash on hand to purchase needed supplies for that length of time and many times the business owners hand wrote out "receipts" with our credit card numbers on it.

Most of us, I believe, are very aware that scam artists are "out there" to get us anyway they can. With that being said, I deal with retailers and businesses on an established basis and know with "whom" I am dealing.

Yes, we all give out those little plastic cards at restaurants, gas stations, everywhere "money" can be spent with little thought. Every once in a while it comes back to bite us!

I'm very thankful that our credit card company keeps a close watch on our card and notifies us immediately should something arise that seems amiss. I was in Austin, Texas and the very same day "someone" in Virginia was trying to buy $5000 in electronic equipment. I was teed-off to say the least when I went to buy gas and my credit card was denied. I immediately called my cc company and they had flagged my account because of the Virginia incident - which btw, did not go through!

Just my thoughts
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Old 08-21-2010, 05:40 PM   #7
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Sorry, but even with a power outage lasting five hours, I find it a little hard to believe that there wasn't a working land line or cellular phone where they could have called the credit card processor to verify whether the card was good. The phone system in my son's store will have one operational phone if the power fails. The only way that phone wouldn't work is if the phone company's network failed. Being that the phone company has its own batteries/generators to keep the system up, it's highly unlikely that all phones were unusable. Cellphone towers generally have emergency power provisions too.
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Old 08-21-2010, 07:04 PM   #8
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The emergency power in stores generally is good for a relatively short time as it is often battery back up or a very small generator to run the essential items. As for cell towers, they usually have a relatively short backup duration as well.

Ken
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Old 08-21-2010, 07:27 PM   #9
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Sorry, but even with a power outage lasting five hours, I find it a little hard to believe that there wasn't a working land line or cellular phone where they could have called the credit card processor to verify whether the card was good. The phone system in my son's store will have one operational phone if the power fails. The only way that phone wouldn't work is if the phone company's network failed. Being that the phone company has its own batteries/generators to keep the system up, it's highly unlikely that all phones were unusable. Cellphone towers generally have emergency power provisions too.
Can you help us understand the point you're making, Frank? Is it that you would not have given up your CC number or that you don't believe this happened?
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Old 08-21-2010, 10:20 PM   #10
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Can you help us understand the point you're making, Frank? Is it that you would not have given up your CC number or that you don't believe this happened?
Sorry, RickO, for the confusion and it all could be even more confusing by the time I'm done here. My wife and I both re-read the O.P. and determined that the question being asked at the end, "Would you have done that?", can have different answers depending on how you interpret the posting. Basically, it hinges on this line:

"They got the CC Company on the phone and the police involved. We'll see what happens."

Who's "They"? Is "They" as in:
(a). The stores where the purchases were made at?
--- or ---
(b). The person who made the purchases?

My previous posting was based on (a) and I'm assuming "They" as in the stores "got the CC Company on the phone and the police involved. We'll see what happens."

I have no problem at all, believing it happened. I've seen plenty of scammers (especially through our website on the Internet) attempt to make purchases at my son's store using stolen, expired or bogus credit cards; along with shipping requests to bogus addresses (for example, an unoccupied or abandoned building). They ask for a tracking number and follow the package's progress. Then, on the delivery date, someone will be at the address to receive the package and disappear with it as soon as the UPS or FedEx truck drives off.

Now, If you were a store employee, would you have taken a customer's credit card as payment if there was no means for authenticating whether the card was valid? My simple answer to that question is absolutely NOT.

But, what I was attempting to bring out as "food for thought" was did the stores these purchases were made at exhaust all avenues of obtaining verification of the credit card before they made the manual credit card transaction? I know that in our store, any power failure will immediately disable the credit card machine and the telephone system. However, depending on how your telephone service is provided, you might still have a usuable phone (or cellphone) and, if it was operational, the store could have called the credit card processor to check the account's validity. Of course, I wasn't in Maine at the time of the power failure and the O.P. didn't provide any information as to whether there was a working telephone, so we'll never know the difinitive answer to that question.

Bottom line is that had it been me, I would have prepared a manual credit card transaction like that only if I knew the customer very, very, very well- like a relative or a neighbor or someone I have a close relationship with.

I am unable to determine from the O.P. whether the customer who made these transactions using an "over the limit" credit card did it intentionally or accidentally. But the fact remains that he's got the goods and the stores are "holding the bag" until the issue's resolved.
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Old 08-22-2010, 04:31 AM   #11
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The couple involved bought some items at three stores. They gave the stores their CC numbers to be run at a later time. Four days later they found out their card was maxed out. Someone had bought a bunch of stuff, not the owners of the CC, on their card. They were confused and almost in tears. I was the first one talking to them after the "wipeout " was discovered. He was holding his computer and walking around in the campground (Wi-Fi) on the Credit Card site, she was on the phone to the CC company. They were leaving to return home from their vacation in Maine, to PA. They left the Campground to make a police report on the inicident before departing the area.

The only point I was making is, as others pointed out, we all should be more aware of our dealings while using "plastic".
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Old 08-22-2010, 05:55 AM   #12
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I, like most of you have and use a credit card. I use it for gas for the coach and occasionally to order something off the web. On my card I have a thousand dollar limit and if I should max out that card on fuel while traveling, I have a ''back up card'' with another thousand dollar limit on it. These ''limits'' on the cards are good protection in the case that they are lost or stolen they are not really worth much. In the rare cases of emergency where I might need a higher credit limit I will call the company and ask for a one time ''higher limit'' on the card. This is handy for emergency repairs if necessary. I used this when we ''blew the tranny'' in Colorado. I never hand my card to a waitress in a restaurant or let it out of my sight for that matter. My solution is ''cash''. Cash is readily accepted almost anywhere you may travel ....
One other thing........ I have never paid one dime of interest on any credit card. Nope, NOT ONE DIME... If you pay some credit card company 18 to 22 percent to handle your money, you have more money than you need or you simply do not understand economics....... Of course that is ''just me'' ..... You do as you see fit.....

Lets all remember our wounded warriors coming home from far flung places. They have given a lot and the least we can do is show respect to them for their service ....... God bless our troops and bring them home soon and safe.........
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Old 08-22-2010, 06:17 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Max Hubrich View Post
The couple involved bought some items at three stores. They gave the stores their CC numbers to be run at a later time. Four days later they found out their card was maxed out. Someone had bought a bunch of stuff, not the owners of the CC, on their card. They were confused and almost in tears. I was the first one talking to them after the "wipeout " was discovered. He was holding his computer and walking around in the campground (Wi-Fi) on the Credit Card site, she was on the phone to the CC company. They were leaving to return home from their vacation in Maine, to PA. They left the Campground to make a police report on the inicident before departing the area.

The only point I was making is, as others pointed out, we all should be more aware of our dealings while using "plastic".
Thanks for the clarification, as it was not clear in the OP if the CC holders were the scammers. But, the maximum liability for the CC holders for fraudulent purchases by others is, I believe, $50 and the retailers will be left holding the bag. The CC holders should also get relief from any fees for exceeding their limit provided their prior balance and non-fraudulent purchases were less than the line of the credit. There is actually a pretty small group of suspects -- the employees at the 3 stores who manually processed the cards.
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Old 08-22-2010, 06:19 AM   #14
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Merchants who accept credit cards usually keep an "old fashioned" credit card imprint device (signature required) for use in these situations. We travel and keep our card in sight at all times, stores, restaurants and fuel stops.

And... no way would we just let some clerk copy our CC info.
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