The Importance of Debit and Credit Card Security for Laundry Operators

The fastest growing types of crime, across the nation is credit card theft and abuse. That struck home to the News when our credit card number got into the hands of some thieves who then duplicated the card and used it to steal thousands of dollars worth of value. And they did it in three different counties and two -different countries. We wrote about it in March of 2003 and then had it happen again. I arrived at the office early on a mid-week morning to see the message lamp busily blinking on the answering machine. The message was from Citibank’s security department. Please call, urgent! A very serious and very professional sounding lady went through the proper steps to verify personal identification and then she began to ask about any recent travel we might have done outside of the state. The problem was that there had been four unusual recent transactions totaling a bit less than fourteen thousand dollars charged to the card. Two in Florida, and two in Hong Kong. The last place the card had been legitimately used was for luncheon at a Miami, Florida restaurant during a CLA event. It was there that the card’s numbers had apparently been compromised. But that had been nearly two months prior to the misuse of the card. These crooks used the time to create a card, make a minor purchase in Miami to verify the credit limit and then splurged with the big buys. From the first to last use was a matter of two or three days. The credit card company lady said there was no liability on our part, but she wanted to stop my use of the card and would send another replacement card that should arrive in our post office box in just a few days. They would also be sending an affidavit swearing to the misuse of the card. Identity theft is reported as being one of the fastest rising crimes taking place in America. Most business people think it can never happen to them. Maybe to someone else, but who would have ever thought it would happen to me is the attitude most people have. In fact it happened to us a second time, but without the same heavy misuse. Someone at a local grocery store managed to gather a copy of the carbon receipt from another credit card and then used it to buy burgers and groceries outside of our county of residence. It appeared that some teens were having a party at someone else’s expense. In both cases, it was the Credit Provider that discovered the thefts. Were it left up to us, we would not have noticed until we received the bill, and if small enough, might not have noticed the extra amount. That is what the thieves are counting on. You simply can’t trust everyone you hand your card over to in a restaurant or at a gas station. Even if you get the carbons back, they could write down the numbers and compromise the card. With card numbers in hand, they simply find someone who will pay them some cash for the number, and unless caught while selling these numbers, they are home free from the law, with justifiable confidence that their part in the theft will never be discovered. The real crooks would prefer the card itself, but they have devices to forge cards imprinting new numbers. These guys are professional who change legitimate card numbers and reprint a new number on it. They quickly use the new numbers and move on to other cards. Check each of your credit card bills carefully so you don’t end up paying for phony purchases. If you find there is a transaction you have questions about, call the credit card provider immediately. Usually it’s for something you forgot that you purchased, but all too often it is because someone else has been using your card numbers without your knowledge. Watch your cards, the numbers and your receipts carefully. It could end up saving you lots of time and heartache. Imagine yourself making a purchase with the card, and having it refused because you are over the limit, and you know you are not. This can be quite a shock, and embarrassing too. Do what you can to protect yourself, your cash, your credit and your cards. You’ll find it gives you peace of mind knowing how you and your money are safe from fraud.