Petty is coming...but First....

USA lost 0-3. and I missed the damn thing.

ITA is on now, so let's root for them. Why? Gotta pick a side.

Read a really interesting article as I pay my bills, procrastinating in doing my work.

READ IT!!!

SCENE 1. This is a new one. People sure stay busy
trying to cheat us,
don't they??
A friend went to the local gym and placed his
belongings in the locker.
After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the
locker open, thought
to himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker.
Hmmmmm." He dressed and just flipped the wallet

to make sure all was in order. Everything looked
okay - all cards were in
place.

A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a
whooping bill of $14,000!


He called the credit card company and started
yelling at them, saying
that he did not make the transactions. Customer
care personnel verified
that there was no mistake in the system and asked if
his card had been
stolen.

"No," he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled
out the cr! edit ca rd,
and yep - you gu essed it - a switch had been made.
An expired similar
credit card from the same bank was in the wallet.
The thief broke into
his locker at the gym and switched cards.

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did
not report the card
missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount
owed to them. How much
Did he have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000!
Why were there no
calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small
amounts rarely trigger a
"warning bell" with some credit card companies. It
just so happens that
all the small amounts added up to big one!

SCENE 2. A man at a local restaurant paid for his
meal with his credit
card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and
the waitress folded
The receipt and passed the credit card along.

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his
wallet or pocket.
! Funny enough, t hough, he actually took a look at
the card and, lo and
behol d, it was the expired card of another person.
He called the waitress
and she looked perplexed. She took it back,
apologized, and hurried back
to the counter under the watchful eye of the man.
All the waitress did
while walking to the counter was wave the wrong
expired card to the
counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately
looked down and took
out the real card. No exchange of words --- nothing!
She took it and came
back to the man with an apology.


Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet
at yours. Check the
Name on the card every time you sign for something
and/or the card is
taken Away for even a short period of time. Many
people just take back
the credit card without even looking at it,
"assuming" that it has to be
theirs. FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE ! HABIT O F
CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD
EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO Y OU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

SCENE 3: Yesterday I went i nto a pizza restaurant to
pick up an order
that I had called in. I paid by using my Visa Check
Card which, of
course, is linked directly to my checking account.

The young man behind the counter took my card,
swiped it, the n laid it
on the counter as he waited for the approval, which
is pretty standard
procedure. While he waited, he picked up his cell
phone and started
dialing. I noticed the phone because it is the same
model I have, but
nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a
click that sounded
like my phone Sounds when I take a picture. He then
gave me back my card
but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still
pressing buttons.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I MS'">wonder what he is
taking a picture of,
obli! vious t o what was really going on. It then
dawned on me: the only
thing there was my credit card, so now
I'm paying close attent ion to what he is doing.

He set his phone o n the counter, leaving it open.
About five seconds
later, I heard the chime that tells you that the
picture has been saved.

Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that
this boy just took a
picture of my credit card. Yes, he played it off
well, becaus e had we
not had the same kind of phone, I probably would
never have known what
happened. Needless to say, I immediately canceled
that card as I was
walking out of the pizza parlor.

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at
all times. Whenever
you are using your credit cards, take caution and
don't be careless.
Notice who is standing near you and what they are
doing when you use your
card.
Be ! aware o f phones because many have a camera
phone these days.

When you are in a restaurant and the wai
ter/waitress brings your card
and receipt for you to sign, make sure you scratch
the nu mber off. Some
restaurants are using on ly the last four digits, but
a lot of them are
still putting the whole thing on there. I have
already been a victim of
credit card fraud and, believe me, it is not fun.
The truth is that they
can get you even when you are careful, but don't
make it easy for them.

FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN THINK OF.
LET'S GET THE WORD OUT! JUST BE AWARE