August 25, 2005
Like most people today, I’m careful about protecting myself from theft. I shred all of those unsolicited pre-approval credit applications that I get in the mail (which should be outlawed), and I refuse to write my social security number on any form where I’m not applying for credit or a loan. (It amazes me that the dentist still asks for this information on the forms they require, despite this information being totally unnecessary for insurance purposes.) I carry very few credit cards – just a corporate AMEX, my debit card, and my VISA.
I avoid writing checks, and I shred anything that has any of my financial account numbers on it. I check my credit report at least once a year and I scrutinize every charge on every credit statement I get. To be smart, I recently got a separate American Express card to use expressly for online purchases. For all other purchases, I use my VISA.
I’m doing everything right. Right? At least, that’s what Officer Stefan of the Houston Police told me on the phone this morning. But it still doesn’t matter – I am still at risk. Credit card theft is at an all-time high, thanks in part to the Internet.
On July 7th as I was on my way out the door for vacation, I received an unexpected package from Target.com. I mentioned to the concierge, “Hmm. I didn’t order anything from Target.” I opened the large box, and inside was a smaller brown box. The invoice told me it was a portable DVD player. My first thought was, “Great. Now I have to go through the trouble of shipping it back.” I didn’t have time to deal with it that afternoon so I got in my rental car and split.
I called Target.com the same day I returned from vacation on the 15th to ask for a return shipping label. I logged on to AmericanExpress.com and saw an unexpected bill for $509.80 dated July 4th. I assumed this was for the DVD player. The Target rep noticed a second order made the same day for $194. That’s when I knew something was wrong.
As it turned out, the second charge was for the DVD player sent to my address. The larger charge was for a camcorder sent to a Houston address. She wouldn’t give me the address. I’m thinking, “Something is charged in my name using my AMEX, and you won’t tell me the address it went to?” That’s the funny thing – once a charge becomes “fraud” everyone clams up and the victim is left hanging.
From this point on, I had a new job to do (in addition to my regular job that pays the rent). This entailed several phone calls to American Express over the next four weeks, as well as two visits to NYPD, a dozen calls to Houston PD begging them to call me just once – which took a solid month - lots of credit card theft research, and calls to credit reporting agencies and the FTC to alert them to the fraudulent charges. I was going to do everything in my power to catch the person who did this, so I launched my own personal investigation.
The interesting (and sad) thing is the speed with which American Express reversed the charges for me. They didn’t even question my fraud report – they took the charges off faster than I could say thank-you. As I’ve learned, credit card companies are making so much money that they can afford to eat the cost of fraud. Officer Stefan told me that for every 100 credit card dollars spent, 10 to 12 cents of that is fraud. Think about it – that’s nothing. So, credit card fraud has become routine for these large banking institutions. They expect, and therefore tolerate, a certain amount of risk. So investigative efforts are minimal, at best.
Another call to Target.com revealed that the thief had opened a Target account using my initials. But Target wasn’t talking either. A call to Yahoo revealed that a subpoena would be required to get info about the person who created that Yahoo account. Of course, the chance of that information being accurate is slim, but you never know how stupid the perp is.
I started writing all of this down – dates and times and names of people I talked to. I wanted the Houston address. Since Target wouldn’t give me that information, I tried calling them again. When they asked for my email address, I gave them the Yahoo alias. For identity verification, they asked me my name and address. I gave them my address and name, not knowing if I’d pass the security verification. Sure enough, I passed the test. I was now scb@yahoo.com and they’d tell my anything I wanted to know. They gave me the address my package was shipped to, the date it was delivered, the name of the person who signed for it, and the UPS tracking number.
If someone can get away with a crime impersonating me, I’m sure as heck not going to feel bad about asking for information while impersonating myself.
Armed with all of that info, a phone, and Internet access, I was able to find out a lot about the alleged thief. Using reverse lookup on whitepages.com I was able to get the names of all the residents of the apartment complex where the stolen property was delivered. Calling the management office of that complex revealed yet more information.
So, within a month I had the woman’s name, address, place of employment, and job title. I was on a first-name basis with the apartment manager and also knew that the alleged perpetrator would be moving out in September. I wrote all this down and mailed it to the Houston PD.
Here’s the sad part – even with all the information I was able to gather, it is nearly impossible to prove Internet credit card theft. Earlier this week the NYPD detective assigned to my case called me, and we had a very interesting conversation. Despite my only waiting a few short days for him to call about my case, he apologized for not getting back to me sooner, saying he’d caught seven of these cases last week alone. He gets over 350 fraud cases a year. That’s one a day, for one single detective, in one single NYC precinct.
The detective explained with some dejection why it’s difficult to prosecute a credit card fraud case. Even with all the information we have on this case, we can’t prove who created the Yahoo ID. Even though we have the address where the stolen item was delivered, we can’t prove that the person living there used the computer to place the order – at least not without an IP address. The detective sounded more than a tad dismayed when he concluded, “It’s the perfect crime.”
So I learned a lot. I always knew it is generally easy to get information out of people. But now I know how easy it is to have your credit card information stolen, no matter how careful you are. Thieves go to chat rooms online and buy credit card numbers. My brother Dave said, “You have no idea how many companies store your credit card numbers in unencrypted databases.” Entire lists of credit card numbers are stolen (usually an inside job) and re-sold. Typically the person using your card isn’t even the one who stole it. Essentially, if you use a credit card anywhere, there is no guarantee that it will be protected.
Remember the old days when we insisted on tearing up the carbons? How stupid is that when anyone with access to the credit card slip could just copy down your number?
The good news is the Houston police are still on the case and will subpoena Yahoo.com for account information. They actually took the time to track the package and make a visit to the delivery address but no one was home.
I really don’t expect the case to be solved, but at least they are trying, and I appreciated that. And both officers I talked to were very pleasant - unlike the first PAA in my local NYPD precinct who was in a bad mood and refused to file a report without a letter from American Express - even when I produced that letter on the spot. I think she was annoyed with my preparedness. She obviously would have preferred to be anywhere else that day, so she fabricated a reason to not accept the letter as proof I'd been ripped off. Despite being disgusted with her rolling-eye behavior toward me, I remained polite in the hopes that she would in fact do her job and fill out the report.
God I hate disgruntled civilians. This required another walk over to the precinct a couple weeks later to try again. I got a different PAA and she had no problem filing a report with the very same information I’d come in with the first time.
The NYPD detective on my case told me about a great idea that would help rid us of credit card theft – and I don’t know why banks don’t do this. Each individual credit card purchase should require a PIN - and not just one time when opening an online account (like when you’re required to input the 3- or 4-digit CVV number on the back of the card). Debit cards require it – why don’t the credit card companies do the same? Is it too costly a solution? I guess so if it costs more than the money they lose on fraud each year.
So we’ll see what happens. Right now I’m at 36,000 feet flying Song Airline to Seattle. According to the neat personal media center I have in front of my seat, it’s one degree Fahrenheit outside, we’ve traveled 915 miles, and we’re moving at 470 mph. I like Song. This is my first time traveling with them. My non-stop coast-to-coast flight cost me only $296 – I got it for a song. :) The flight attendants are genuinely nice, the pilot has a sense of humor, and the flight is on time. The media center and complimentary headset is a sweet bonus.
If you ever fly Song, I highly recommend seat 1C. Although it’s adjacent to the noisy galley area, it’s the only seat on the plane that gives you unlimited leg-stretching space. It’s first class without the first class service or price.
Now if the guy behind me would just stop using the touch-screen monitor on the back of my seat as a punch-screen, everything would be perfect……
Friday, August 26, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Free Entertainment
Last night at 6:45 I took the subway up to 110th, at the north end of Central Park, and walked the entire length of the Park back home, which was about 65 blocks. It’s the furthest north I’ve been on Manhattan. I love Central Park because every time I go there I come across something I haven’t seen before.
I was careful not to sit across from the very vocal passenger on the C train who was babbling loudly to no one in particular. You see a lot of that in New York – people talking out loud to themselves in public, oblivious to others. This guy was about three sheets to the wind and was carrying on about some woman – “She got pregnant! She din’ care bout me. Bitch,” etc. This went on all the way to 86th Street. The rest of us were looking at each other smiling at the entertainment. This guy blabbed non-stop the entire ride.
A nice-looking woman dressed in a suit got on and sat across from him at one stop. She was wearing glasses and reading something. The man honed in on her. “You’re a smart woman,” and started his tirade again. The rest of us were impressed with how well the lady tuned him out. She never once looked up at him. When the guy finally got off the train, ranting about how all women are bitches, half of us started to laugh out loud. The subway frequently offers free entertainment of this sort.
The first thing I noticed on my walk is that the north end of the park is not as well-kept as the rest of the nicely manicured landscaping in Central Park. But not long after my walk started at 7:00PM, I paused when I saw a small troupe of Shakespearean actors putting on a comedy in front of a small crowd seated in the grass. Free classical theater on the lawn!
As I continued south, it seemed like every member of the NY population was out running, biking, and roller-blading. In the hour and a half I was in the park, I passed literally thousands of exercise enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes. I remember thinking, in New York you are never alone. As I walked around the Jackie Onassis reservoir, I couldn’t help but ogle at the 5th Avenue buildings awash in melted gold cast by the setting sun behind me. What a beautiful place!
Later I came across an outdoor concert at Summerstage. The pop band was actually pretty good – turns out they are from Seattle – some group called Death Cab for Cutie.
I exited the park at the Plaza Hotel on the south end of the park. I strolled home through the city streets. There is just something about New York City at night – it’s really the best time to be in the city. The lights are spectacular. The streets are alive with people. I’d much rather be out on the sidewalks of NY than sitting home in the evening , so I walk every chance I get – when I’m not working. (Ha - I took two vacation days this week to try to get some personal business taken care of and still managed to log over 40 hours. It just never ends.)
If it wasn’t drizzly and gray tonight, I’d do what’s next on my list – which is to ride the Statten Island Ferry. Until then – here are some pictures from the park….
I was careful not to sit across from the very vocal passenger on the C train who was babbling loudly to no one in particular. You see a lot of that in New York – people talking out loud to themselves in public, oblivious to others. This guy was about three sheets to the wind and was carrying on about some woman – “She got pregnant! She din’ care bout me. Bitch,” etc. This went on all the way to 86th Street. The rest of us were looking at each other smiling at the entertainment. This guy blabbed non-stop the entire ride.
A nice-looking woman dressed in a suit got on and sat across from him at one stop. She was wearing glasses and reading something. The man honed in on her. “You’re a smart woman,” and started his tirade again. The rest of us were impressed with how well the lady tuned him out. She never once looked up at him. When the guy finally got off the train, ranting about how all women are bitches, half of us started to laugh out loud. The subway frequently offers free entertainment of this sort.
The first thing I noticed on my walk is that the north end of the park is not as well-kept as the rest of the nicely manicured landscaping in Central Park. But not long after my walk started at 7:00PM, I paused when I saw a small troupe of Shakespearean actors putting on a comedy in front of a small crowd seated in the grass. Free classical theater on the lawn!
As I continued south, it seemed like every member of the NY population was out running, biking, and roller-blading. In the hour and a half I was in the park, I passed literally thousands of exercise enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes. I remember thinking, in New York you are never alone. As I walked around the Jackie Onassis reservoir, I couldn’t help but ogle at the 5th Avenue buildings awash in melted gold cast by the setting sun behind me. What a beautiful place!
Later I came across an outdoor concert at Summerstage. The pop band was actually pretty good – turns out they are from Seattle – some group called Death Cab for Cutie.
I exited the park at the Plaza Hotel on the south end of the park. I strolled home through the city streets. There is just something about New York City at night – it’s really the best time to be in the city. The lights are spectacular. The streets are alive with people. I’d much rather be out on the sidewalks of NY than sitting home in the evening , so I walk every chance I get – when I’m not working. (Ha - I took two vacation days this week to try to get some personal business taken care of and still managed to log over 40 hours. It just never ends.)
If it wasn’t drizzly and gray tonight, I’d do what’s next on my list – which is to ride the Statten Island Ferry. Until then – here are some pictures from the park….
Thursday, August 11, 2005
New York Sites
Every time you walk out onto a New York City street you enter a whole new adventure. You never know what you will see. Today, I was in a cab on the way to the client’s site when I saw a small crowd in the middle of Times Square. Microphones atop long extension rods floating above the crowd were clues that something was being taped. I commented to my co-worker - who is in town from Maryland - that whoever was being interviewed must be rather short because she was barely visible in the crowd.
Sure enough, it was the woman famously photographed 60 years ago August 14th when a sailor grabbed and kissed her in the middle of Times Square. 87-year-old Edith Shain still does not know the name of the man who kissed her that day amidst the euphoria as crowds celebrated the Allied victory in Japan.
Later, after work today, as we were walking to the subway, I was pointing to a new skyscraper at the World Trade Center when I turned to my co-worker and noticed he was looking down the sidewalk ahead of us instead. There, in front of us, was a camera crew and a scantily clad, heavily made-up woman in high-heels and a skimpy leotard/costume/feathery/thingy of some sort. All I saw was a lot of bare leg and ass. My jaw dropped open and I was like, “Whoa! Didn’t see that!” Everyone was staring at her, of course. With the provocative way women in NY dress in general, there’s always a guy nearby gawking at some woman sashaying down the sidewalk. Makes me feel so normal and middle-aged. That’s actually pretty comforting to me these days. :)
New York is an amazing city – you just never know what you are going to see. A favorite pastime of mine is walking around snapping photos. Here are some pictures from a walk I took yesterday evening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)