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Day 882 – FRAUD!

Damnit! I hate it when i get the call from AMEX (or any other credit card agency) “this is not a sales call, please contact us immediately.”

This is only the second time in my life i’ve gotten the call, but it makes me feel creepy nonetheless. I check all of my accounts online everyday. Some accounts, credit cards in particular, i check two and three times a day.

The first fraud call was years ago when Annette and i lived in Brooklyn and for some odd reason decided to venture into New Jersey to the Short Hills Mall. I think we may be been in search of an Apple Store. I got the call on my cell phone when we were either just arriving or just departing the mall. It was raining. We were on the top floor of a parking garage.

“Hello sir, this is Chase fraud prevention. Did you recently charge $3,460 in Florida?”

“Uh, no fucking way.”

“Thank you sir, we figured as much.”

The call went on a bit, but that was the only important part.

This time the charges were at some kind of vintage auto parts store and, of all places, the Sharper Image. When the AMEX rep told me that all i could say was, “can we set it up so if you ever see a charge, ever, at a Sharper Image, Brookstone, or any other such store, you immediately decline it?”

“Oh, i’m sorry sir, but no, we can’t do that.”

Damn.

Sheesh, “Sharper Image.” Of all the places to use a pilfered card number. It’s not that their crooks, it that they’re small-time, dopey crooks who are after stupid stuff.

If i was in possession of a stolen card number i’d like to think i’d show a bit more creativity. Airline tickets… maybe really good tequila.

Anyway… the real reason for this post was given to me by Google’s quote-o-the-day.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.
– Charles Kuralt

My dad was a huge fan of Mr. Kuralt. Had my father not placed such blind faith in the knowledge of doctors and used a condom when he had sex with my mother and not created me he would have traveled even more than he did and possibly would have written about it. Then i’d at least have a book to remember him. As it is i’ve got a box of stupid tapes (none of which has his voice) and a pile of mostly crappy photographs.

So now i have to kill my AMEX number from all the online merchants (amazon, apple, EZ-pass, etc.) and re-enter it once my replacement card arrives. I can’t help but wonder if this is a scam to somehow “lose” my frequent flyer miles that i’ve accumulated on the now tainted AMEX card.

Ok, enough… one more episode of HBO’s Rome and i’m off to bed. Big day tomorrow. Bigger day on Wednesday.

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