this is NOT a joke

[Spartan]

People sure stay busy trying to cheat us,

don't they?



SCENE

1.

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, and thought to himself, 'Funny, I thought I

locked the locker.



Hmm, '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 credit card, and yep - you guessed 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, though, he

actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, 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 are 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 OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO

YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

=============================



SCENE

3:

Yesterday I went into 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, then 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 dialling.



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 wonder

what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going

on.



It then

dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I'm

paying close attention to what he is doing.



He set his phone on 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, because had we not

had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what

happened.



Needless to say, I immediately cancelled

that card as I was walking out of the pizza

parlour.



All I am saying is, be aware of your

surroundings at all times.



Whenever you are using

your credit card 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 of phones, because many people have a camera phone these

days.