How have you been scammed?

[Bogy]

I quite often use the pay at the pump option at gas stations (one of the few times I use a credit card, since when you stick your card in the pump they will claim up to a hundred dollars on your account, and while they are supposed to promptly release the extra once they know how much you bought, it doesn't always happen. The other option is to pay inside after pumping the gas.) After comments by others on this forum a while back I now always take a receipt in case I am accused of doing a driveoff.

In my line of work the most common degree after the MDiv is the DMin. Some time back I did all the work for the degree except writing the thesis. When I went to the church I was serving at the time the tuition and time was a perk I negotiated when I went there. For various reasons I never wrote the thesis (my advisory committee considered the project I wanted to do to be a PhD type project, not a DMin, my father died about that time, my wife was having health problems, and I just don't like writing that much (Yeah, I know some of you will find that hard to believe.) The ROI is practically nil, although in that case, where I didn't have to actually make an investment, it isn't so bad. What it can do sometimes is attract churches that might not otherwise even look at your profile, but it really doesn't really add anything to what most churches are willing to pay. Its much more for personal achievement. I've thought about finishing the degree, but I am much more likely to invest the money and time in certification as an interim minister than the DMin. It can provide some good training for churches going through transitions (which describes many churches, including where I am now in a rural area going through the transition of a declining community), and a good option for semi-retirement as an interim minister.

 

[AllieVi]

Just received notice I was scammed recently! Florida. ... Any thoughts?

They’ve got you over a barrel and you’re probably screwed out of that $6. Your wife’s assessment of how it happened makes sense. I’d certainly pay the fine just to stay out of trouble (you’re not a senator and such an admission of guilt should not affect your future employment… ).

But I’d also send a letter to the administrator of the system explaining the situation. It may be something they already are aware of and could help get the offender fired.

 

[TheForce]

Bogy- You make a good point about gas credit cards- I always use one as its faster and very convenient plus I get a discount. Often there are pumps that don't print out a receipt when requested. I usually just write it in my log (IRS) and move on. Maybe I need to consider waiting in line while people ahead of me buy those scratch off lottery tickets and get that receipt. Ugh!

 

[Foxbat]

I guess we've been lucky, but last month our luck ran out. The CC bill came today and when I looked at it, there were a dozen Gas fill-ups charged to our card from Georgia. The irritating thing is the Fraud department had called a week ago due to some "suspicious", but legitimate activities, and one of the bogus fill-ups occurred in that time period. I'm pissed because the agent did not say "gasoline fill-up in Atlanta, GA," just the name of the gas stations involved. After that, our CC was used on a daily or twice a day to buy $35-45 worth of gas. THAT isn't suspicious?!!?!?

So, we get shiny new CCs in 7-10 working days, plus we get to contact all of our auto-pay vendors that have our canceled card CC info and set up new terms in the meanwhile.

I'm still trying to figure out where it happened. We were on vacation the month before we noticed the fraudulent charges, so it's possible one of the places we used our CC made a magnetic copy of the stripe that allowed it to be duped so it would work in a CC reader at a gas station. Since there is no PIN entered at the pump, it's a system ripe for abuse.

 

[TheForce]

Roland- Reading a CC stripe is easy. You can purchase a card reader for a couple of bucks that inserts in your keyboard line for PS2 KB and USB for modern systems. Some new policies I've seen begun this summer on gas cards are enter zip code at the pump but this isn't real secure.

Couple of tips,
1. Use a company gas CC like exxon, Hess, etc for gas purchases only. And, only use that card at the pump, pay cash at the register. IOW, the risk is quite low if you are the only one who ever handles the card. I have two gas cards, one for my wife and one for me, different accounts. Easy to track, and we both never use it to pay at the register.
2. Categorize your cards so a class of purchase is all you do on that card.
simple example-
AMEX for travel- Hotel, restaurants airfares the like but not for purchases.
VISA for purchases of misc. stuff
Maybe a MC for clothes only, another VISA for hobby stuff.
Another CC for auto bill pay but no purchases.
Once a pattern has been established it is easy to spot a deviation to the pattern, not just by you but also the CC security monitors.

3. Set up all your cards with on-line access so you can monitor your charges often. I review my charges on cards that see other's hands 2-3 times per week.