Gotta hand it to the bank

[B_BQ]

Yes, I do remember; a handshake was inviolable. My mother and father were the epitome of honesty, as were most of their contemporaries. It's sad that the world has lost that honesty and integrity. We try, but not always easy these days.
~BBQ

[kelly_m]

I had that happen...but with my debit card....

My bank called...leaving a number for me to call had to go through security up and down and backwards....they told me my card # and pin were stolen...had to replace it. got reimbursed.

Yeah...there are a lot of scammers and losers out there....but the banks have really upped their security too. and it's good to get those calls wanting to help out.

How mwny time in years past have people lost money cause the banks could not prove it was not you using the card.....technology ain't so bad after all!

[Countryboy]

When my DS was in Kandahar, he and his mates would be in a large trailer monitoring cell phone traffic. Looking for suspicious activity every time a NATO unit went out on patrol.

Home now, and no longer full-time with the Canadian Forces, he and his new, civilian 'unit' monitor Visa and Debit card use for a certain Canadian bank. Looking for suspicious activity involving those cards.

They're well trained, experienced, and very good at what they do!

[Eeyore]

They certainly are Frank. I got the call within minutes of the first odd purchase. I'm not sure how they could have classified it as unusual unless they noticed several on-line purchases made within a very short time frame. Having the purchases go through in real time certainly is a good thing. Remember when they used to run them through a hand held machine and then have to submit them for reimbursement? Wonder how much was lost to fraud then?

[Katherine]

whew! its hard to get on here some times. Lyn glad you got that sorted out in your favour.

Frank you must be very proud of your son.

I have a small company that uses credit cards and we travel a bit, a lot less than we used to. So once I was out in the middle of fricking no where, and my card was declined. Fortunately I have more than one. The reason I was given is the security people noticed I was a 56 year old matron living in Castlegar but for some reason two days later I was in a bush truck buying gas in Alexis Creek in the Chilcotin. So they stopped my card, and stopped it good. I was somewhat p-o'd but I felt I should cut them some slack because basically, they were doing their job.

I too recieved a call from a flute voiced male telling me Microsoft had detected a problem with my computer, and being a matron in Castlegar I played dumb for a while but then gave them my fondest regards and said goodbye.

I dont know why there is more gun violence, more drug casualties, more gangs, more scammers in todays society than 100 years ago, and I cant pin it on any one thing. Its not because lesbians can get married, or because Obama is the US president, and its not because we dont have a jolly good war or a depression etc going on. But I look at the media, TV and the movies and the way life is sensationalized and violence is desensitized and I wonder if that is the underlying cause. There was a book called the (Something) Arguments Against Television. (I think it was an apostolic 12 but I am not sure). I read this as an undergraduate and promptly threw out my TV for about a decade which means I missed out on such iconographic media extravaganzas as Charlies Angels, and Dirty Dancing, and the Disco Era. I did not follow Kiss, or see Star Wars. But when I have checked in recently, its FAR worse than any of those fairly mild versions of armageddon. The violence and death on TV and in the movies is very real, sickening really. And scammers, well they probably think its a legit way to make a living, in their view.

I am starting to sound like I am a disgruntled old matron.



ke

[davefrombc]

I think a big part of the violence and other forms of anti-social behavior increasing ( or at least appearing to increase) is at least two-fold.With the near instant connectivity of media now, we hear of incidents as they happen more readily, where before they were often not reported; and the population explosion has not only created more violent people simply by maintaining the same ration of volatile to normal individuals, and the crowding factor.. We are not as accustomed to the crowding in our cities as many in Asian countries are, so when crowded together some people act like rats crowded in a cage; they turn on one another.
Unfortunately, our society and rats can sometimes share to many similarities.

[bluewillow]

... and when leaving the Country make certain you inform M/C, Visa etc. I wasn't aware of this until my travel agent advised.

bw

[Eeyore]

That is good advice BW. We forgot to do that this time but usually we call them if we are going to be out of town for any length of time.