Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Signature Pads


A lot of people know that leaving our signature behind on a random piece of paper is not a safe thing to do, even if it is some kind of receipt. Most of us are happy about the signature pad and feel that our information is safe in some kind of magical and unreachable place.  At least I used to think that until a week ago when I looked at my credit card bill where there was a charge of eleven dollars and ninety nine cents, that I could not understand. It is not a big amount and the store was one that I usually shop at. The strange thing was that there was a suffix that said, "VIP Pass" next to the name of the store and a telephone number was mentioned in the credit card statement.  So I called that number to ask what was going on and why was I charged 11.99, when I did not even shop on the date (or the month) .  The customer service lady said that I had signed up for a VIP pass  that was free for a month and then I would be paying 11.99 every month. So I asked her when did I ever do such a thing. She then explained to me that when I made a purchase, I had opted yes for this "VIP Pass".  Needless to say I was worried and was thinking that I am losing it.  I still did not believe that I would do something and not know it.  I told her to cancel my "VIP Pass". To that she said that I have to give her the "VIP pass" number or my credit card number . I had no "VIP Pass number and I was not about to give her my credit card number. I went to that store to see where I can get that "VIP Pass" number. The manager was very helpful, but was not able to help me get that number. He could not locate even a transaction done by me for that month in the register. Then I was left with no choice but to cancel my credit card number. 

 Later on I looked up the "VIP Pass" and saw several complaints on Yahoo.

 I feel bad for the store manager. That is one store that I always like to go to find neat and cool gifts, for my children and grand children. The store has things that make fans of Star Wars, Star Trek very happy and a lot of new and old shows and movies, for all age group fans. I might still shop there but using cash only.

I know that most of the time we see options like 'cash back" yes or no or even 'amount correct' yes or no ,but now I know that we have to be very careful about hitting yes even on the electronic signature pad.Product Details

10 comments:

Susie Swanson said...

I'm sure sorry to hear this happened to you. Something similar happened to my sister a while back, only someone came in behind her and had some device that picked her credit card number up and was spending like crazy on her card. To make a long story short, she had to cancel her card as well. It's so dangerous out there anymore. This is a great post to alert people.

Anonymous said...

What bad guys can do with electronics is scary!!

Geo. said...

Excellent cautionary post! You did all the right things in response to the identity theft.

Janie Junebug said...

Oh, dear. I know this makes me sound like a bad person--and I really don't like to be mean--but if a company screws me over, I demand to talk to a supervisor and I yell at the person until he or she fixes what's wrong and gives my money back. Then I never shop with that company again, and I tell everyone I know not to shop there again. It's unacceptable that no one could help you with this.

Love,
Janie

B. WHITTINGTON said...

Munir, It seems no matter how careful we are with our money and our cards there's always a new trick out there to compromise our security. I know you're are vigilant and so am I. Now, I guess we have to be more aware of each and every transaction and always check our card statements to make sure they are correct. Take care. Hugs, barb

joeh said...

Funny how it is so easy to sign up and so difficult to cancel. Personally I think they should be arrested for theft!

Guarantee may people will pay every month for this VIP nonsense and never even know it.

yaya said...

You always have to watch your back these days. Hope all is good now but it's too bad you had to cancel that card. So much work! 11.99 doesn't sound bad but it sure adds up over a year. Glad you noticed it and I'm going to be extra careful next time I check out! Thanks!

The Purple Assassin. said...

I used to think that digitalization is great, but then there are both sides of the coin.

Launna said...

Wow Munir, I don't have a credit card but I do have a debit card... we have the ability where we can just tap it and not use our 4 digit pin code and I had them remove that feature... it would be easy to lose my card and anyone could have picked it up and used it. I think we want convenience too much... I agree we don't read through what we are pushing as much as we should... I think we need to slow down and take the time... This is a good reminder xox

B. WHITTINGTON said...

Munir- thanks for stopping by my blog. I don't keep up with blogs or blogging the way I used to do. Just don't have the time. Take care of you!