Phony Credit Cards?

[Kevin]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
About buying stuff on other people's credit cards, I've never understood how people could do that if they didn't physically have the card (ie just memorized the number or wrote it down).

They'd have to shop over the Internet or via catalog, right? So wouldn't they get caught when the card's owner calls the police and the mail order company says where the order was shipped to? Like wouldn't the police just go to the thief's house and arrest him?

Often, the thief will have it delivered to a vacant house.

As far as buying from an actual store, they can make a fake card. Most don't have the equipment to program the stripe... Some do.

Things you look for include the hologram being reflective (it's really tough to find a printer that will print a hologram). You look for the logos to be in the right places. You look for the pattern on the card to not look like it was printed on a home PC. You also make sure the signature stripe on the back is still in tact and the card is signed.

Red flags are when someone tells me in advance that their stripe doesn't work or the appearance of the card is off. I just advise them that I have to call it in because that's our policy.. you know.. with all of the holiday fraud. They usually opt to get pissy and leave or try another form of payment. Most legitimate customers don't mind a few moments when it's called in.