This tip may save you HUGE amounts of grief if you ever lose your wallet!

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

Here in the U.S., if you go to a gas pump and swipe your ATM debit card OR credit card, you can dispense gas with it WITHOUT HAVING TO ENTER A PIN.

This fact is used to steal from people. A credit card is stolen, a perp walks up to someone at a gas pump with some story about why he can't get cash with the card, but will pay for your gas with "his" card if you give the cash to him as reimbursement. He can do this ONLY because the PIN, which he does not know, is not required.

This brings me to a helpful tip for you all:
Take your wallet to a photocopy machine, lay all of the cards out, and take a photocopy of them. Turn each card over in its place, and photocopy the back (many cards have info on the back, particularly credit cards: this is where they list the 800 number to report theft).

Make a few copies of each side and take them home and put them in a safe place. You might even keep a copy in your glove compartment. Use this copy to be able to instantly know whom you have to call if your wallet is ever stolen or lost. Cancel all credit cards immediately, and inform the DMV of the loss of your driver's license. (The copy kept in your car is because often stolen credit cards are used within minutes or hours of the theft. You can use this copy even if you're hours away from home.)

I'm not sure where or when I first heard of this recommendation, but I make sure to re-copy my wallet contents every time I am issued any new card. I throw out the old copy (shredding or tearing it) and replace it with the new one.

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-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[sangiro 26]

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"Burn the land and boil the sea:
you can't take the sky from me..."

You should try the air quality in New Delhi! It's so thick I think if you exited a plane there you'll just remain stuck at altitude.

Safe swoops
Sangiro

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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"Burn the land and boil the sea:
you can't take the sky from me..."

You should try the air quality in New Delhi! It's so thick I think if you exited a plane there you'll just remain stuck at altitude.

Dude!!!!
I guess I should buy beer now -- y-you're THE guy whose website this is, right? I've never been addressed by you personally before and it feels like a bona fide honor!
Never been to India, but I've heard about the problems that go with population density, yes.

Actually, that quote is from the theme song of the short-lived (one season) television science fiction series "Firefly." I hold it to be one of the best t.v. series there has ever been. My brother bought me the DVD collection for Christmas and it's my favorite, now! You must get a hold of them and watch them -- they're awesome!
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-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[skymama 37]

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Make a few copies of each side and take them home and put them in a safe place. You might even keep a copy in your glove compartment.

I agree that making copies is a good idea, but not with putting a copy in the glove department. If someone steals your car, they've got your car AND all your credit card info!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[wzettler 0]

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You might even keep a copy in your glove compartment.

What if your car is broken into and the copy of all your cards is stolen out of your glove compartment? Then that person goes on the internet and buys all kinds of crazy sh*t. The person can then charge stuff to ALL you accounts and that sounds like a mess I wouldn't want to sort out. I don't think its a good idea to keep a copy in your car...

edited to say: Damn skymama! You beat me to it!

I think when Jesus said "love your enemy" he probably meant don't kill them.

[HRHSkyPrincess 0]

You're so right Skymama! For some excellent info on what to do and how to protect yourself from ID Theft, which has become rampant, visit this site:

www.ftc.gov/idtheft

Never leave credit card receipts on restaurant tables and PLEASE remove your SSN card from your wallet or purse now. Store it at home, locked up.

I work at a state agency that hears the nightmare of ID Theft stories all day long!

*****************
Attitude is everything!

[skycat 0]

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Here in the U.S., if you go to a gas pump and swipe your ATM debit card OR credit card, you can dispense gas with it WITHOUT HAVING TO ENTER A PIN.

Did you mean check card and credit card? I've never been anyplace where I didn't have to enter the PIN on my plain jane ATM card. (one of the reasons I won't get a check card.)

Fly it like you stole it!

[kelpdiver 2]

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Did you mean check card and credit card? I've never been anyplace where I didn't have to enter the PIN on my plain jane ATM card. (one of the reasons I won't get a check card.)

Aye, I haven't figured out why I would want a ATM card that lets one take money out of my account without having to provide a PIN or show ID. All those VISA ads convinced me to never get one.

If one prefers a check card to a normal VISA/MC so they are always current, you can always go online right after a purchase and transfer the funds. Giving up the ability to contest a charge before paying for it doesn't seem worth it. It makes a lot of sense to the banks (they get 1-5%), but what do I get?

[flyangel2 2]

At most swip type machines, they don't know the difference between a Credit Card or a Check Card. I would just swip my depth card and when it asked for a PIN, I would just hit enter. Now that is changing, WalMart's machines now know the difference between a Credit Card and a Check Card. I just have to remember to take my check book with me to WalMart, since I don't want to use my PIN. My bank charges me .25 cents every time the PIN is used. I guess that's the banks way to get some money out of me, since I have free checking.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Sheenster303 0]

Dude! If I ever got charged for everytime I use my PIN, I would never have any money! I rarely use cash and I only use checks to pay bills. I use my debit card everywhere! I usually only go to gas stations if they have a debit capability where I put my PIN number in. But I'm finding myself using it as a credit card more and more. I like the fact that by using your PIN number it automatically deducts from your checking account. Otherwise I'll forget I used the card and don't record the transaction like I should.

I'm so funny I crack my head open!

P.M.S. #102

[flyangel2 2]

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Dude!

Flyangel looks down her blouse.

Still got some boobies.

Flyangel gives herself a good looking over in the "below the waist department.

Nope! No penis there.

My bank card will pull the money right out of my account. I have free checking, so I think the bank is trying to get some money from me some where. That's when I use my PIN, which I refuse to do, so I treat my Checking Card like writing a check. I just don't have the hassle of writing out the check.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Sheenster303 0]

LOL! Sorry! I say dude all the time! My sister calls everyone dude, so I kinda picked up on it too.

I'm so funny I crack my head open!

P.M.S. #102

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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Did you mean check card and credit card? I've never been anyplace where I didn't have to enter the PIN on my plain jane ATM card. (one of the reasons I won't get a check card.)

Aye, I haven't figured out why I would want a ATM card that lets one take money out of my account without having to provide a PIN or show ID. All those VISA ads convinced me to never get one.

Only at GAS STATIONS have I ever encountered the ability to use the ATM or CREDIT CARD (works with either kind) without having to enter the PIN. As I said, this was so all the way up the east coast. But go into a supermarket or Target, etc., and you do have to enter the 4 digit PIN. I don' t know why it's different at gas stations, but it is.
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-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[flyangel2 2]

The only place I have to enter my PIN is at WalMart, and that just started last month. I can go to Target and any grocery store, use my Checking Account Card and when it ask for my PIN, I just hit ENTER. Then the machine thinks it's a Credit Card.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey