Phony Credit Cards?

Kevin · #1 12-07-2003, 08:02 PM

I work a retail job on the weekends. Tonight I had a customer get a bunch of stuff and hand me this credit card that looked fake as heck. You could tell it had been printed on with some kind of printer. The Visa logo didn't look right and the hologram wasn't reflective. On the back the signature line was scratched off.

I of course said I'd have to phone it in and the dude paid cash (which I took a good look at

)

This stuff is apparently pretty common this time of year.. Anyone else run into any similar Christmas time frauds?

ThetaPrincess24 · #2 12-07-2003, 08:07 PM

It doesnt suprise me. I've seen it all over CNN and Fox News about beign careful because this time of year is primetime for identity theft.......even being suspicious of sales clerks that ring you up. make sure they give your your card back as asap and you put it up when they give it back. you dont want them staring at it to memorize a number to write it down real quick when you leave and use that number for whatever purposes later. Always check your statements too. I think there is a chit chat thread on identity theft here somewhere.

I'm glad you didnt get taken by that idiot. Did you report it to the cops? They could put all the stores in the area on alert for that guy and others that may be trying the same tactic.

Kevin · #3 12-07-2003, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThetaPrincess24
It doesnt suprise me. I've seen it all over CNN and Fox News about beign careful because this time of year is primetime for identity theft.......even being suspicious of sales clerks that ring you up. make sure they give your your card back as asap and you put it up when they give it back. you dont want them staring at it to memorize a number to write it down real quick when you leave and use that number for whatever purposes later. Always check your statements too. I think there is a chit chat thread on identity theft here somewhere.

I'm glad you didnt get taken by that idiot. Did you report it to the cops? They could put all the stores in the area on alert for that guy and others that may be trying the same tactic.

Honestly, it was a pretty bad forgery. If someone fell for it, they'd almost deserve to be caught.

About as good as the time I had a customer try to pass me some temp checks that he had typed the name/address info on with a typewriter. It was crooked

KillarneyRose · #4 12-07-2003, 11:09 PM

About buying stuff on other people's credit cards, I've never understood how people could do that if they didn't physically have the card (ie just memorized the number or wrote it down).

They'd have to shop over the Internet or via catalog, right? So wouldn't they get caught when the card's owner calls the police and the mail order company says where the order was shipped to? Like wouldn't the police just go to the thief's house and arrest him?

Kevin · #5 12-07-2003, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
About buying stuff on other people's credit cards, I've never understood how people could do that if they didn't physically have the card (ie just memorized the number or wrote it down).

They'd have to shop over the Internet or via catalog, right? So wouldn't they get caught when the card's owner calls the police and the mail order company says where the order was shipped to? Like wouldn't the police just go to the thief's house and arrest him?

Often, the thief will have it delivered to a vacant house.

As far as buying from an actual store, they can make a fake card. Most don't have the equipment to program the stripe... Some do.

Things you look for include the hologram being reflective (it's really tough to find a printer that will print a hologram). You look for the logos to be in the right places. You look for the pattern on the card to not look like it was printed on a home PC. You also make sure the signature stripe on the back is still in tact and the card is signed.

Red flags are when someone tells me in advance that their stripe doesn't work or the appearance of the card is off. I just advise them that I have to call it in because that's our policy.. you know.. with all of the holiday fraud. They usually opt to get pissy and leave or try another form of payment. Most legitimate customers don't mind a few moments when it's called in.

texas*princess · #6 12-08-2003, 12:42 PM

If your credit card offers online access, it wouldn't hurt to periodically check your statement online to make sure there are not random charges being made with your credit card number. It only takes a few minutes and could save you a ton of headaches if you just wait to get your monthly statement later on.

Lil' Hannah · #7 12-08-2003, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
About buying stuff on other people's credit cards, I've never understood how people could do that if they didn't physically have the card (ie just memorized the number or wrote it down).

There was a couple in Bowie (MD) that made fraudulent credit cards from their home. I'm not sure how they got the numbers, but they did have a magnetic strip programmer, and they would put legitimate card information onto a magnetic strip and then put that strip on the back of credit cards that hadn't been activated and the like. So it appeared to be a real card, but the number on the strip didn't match up with the number on the front.

When I worked in retail our main problem was with fake checks. By the time I left the check acceptance policy was pretty tough because we sold a lot of expensive gear and we were getting returned checks left and right.

ZTAngel · #8 12-08-2003, 01:08 PM

I worked at KB Toys during the holidays my senior year in high school. Our manager told us that there was a group of kids that would buy a Playstation game, take out the CD, reseal the jewel case with some black market plastic sealent stuff, and try returning the empty jewel case to the store.
I was working the register when a group of 12-year-old, wannabe hoodlums came in with a Playstation game and said they wanted to return it. I took off the plastic wrapping and started opening the jewel case when I heard one of the kids who was standing outside the store say, "Oh, $hit! She's opening it!" I open it and the jewel case was empty. One of kids goes to me, "That's how it came and that's why we're returning it." I'm like, "Yeah, ok. How would you know this if the game was still completely wrapped with plastic?" The kids immediately ran from the store. I called the mall security guards who alerted the police. One of the police officers suspected that the kids would come back into the store so he hung out around the store for a few hours. He was right. One of the idiot kids came back and demanded I give back the CD jewel case. Freakin' moron. The police officer promptly escorted him out of the store.

lionlove · #9 12-08-2003, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThetaPrincess24
It doesnt suprise me. I've seen it all over CNN and Fox News about beign careful because this time of year is primetime for identity theft.......even being suspicious of sales clerks that ring you up. make sure they give your your card back as asap and you put it up when they give it back. you dont want them staring at it to memorize a number to write it down real quick when you leave and use that number for whatever purposes later. Always check your statements too. I think there is a chit chat thread on identity theft here somewhere.

I'm glad you didnt get taken by that idiot. Did you report it to the cops? They could put all the stores in the area on alert for that guy and others that may be trying the same tactic.

I work in retail and we were taught to hold onto the card throughout the entire purchase so that we can compare the signature on the card to the signature on the receipt. What I do though is place the card out of my eyesight (usually under a coupon) so that no one can read the number on the card and memorize it. My advice is to just watch the sales person, if they seem to be staring at the card, write down the name of the associate if you are suspicious and report them to customer service or a manager.

SoCalGirl · #10 12-09-2003, 11:42 PM

This is why I can't stand that 90% of places make you swipe the card yourself! The cashiers are the first line of defense against fraud most of the time. Plus it irks me that I swipe and then still have to had it and my ID over for them to check. Why are you making me the middle man?!?

When I worked at SeaWorld we tried to be as tuff as we could about following the credit card companies procedures. You try to tell someone that their signature doesn't match the "C ID" on the back of their card and see what kind of reaction you get! They also got super pissy if we would not take an unsigned card. Even worse if we would not let them sign it in front of us and use it. And even worse when we still wanted ID when they tried to use it later after signing it.