What do you do with expired credit cards when the newer, shinier ones arrive in the mail?
Cut them up. Into tiny pieces. I had a few of them hidden somewhere in the house, not knowing what to do with them. After several years, I finally discovered that the official advice is to make sure nobody can duplicate them and with some, err, creativity, put their shopping bill under your tab.
This is probably one of the little things that credit card companies forget to advise their customers, or perhaps I just didn’t pay much attention. But these days, you can’t be too careful about protecting your identity. Remember that Filipinos are geniuses when it comes to IT crimes! Remember the “I love you” virus?
I also hope credit card companies would make it harder for these guys, you know? It came to my attention that some credit card companies mail cards to customers that are ready for use –- no confirmation or activation required. That’s a red flag! If for some reason that card reached the wrong person with the wrong intentions, goodbye peace of mind!
It was surprising to discover that a lot of very intelligent people make extremely (pardon the word) stupid mistakes when it comes to protecting the security of their credit cards, debit cards, or ATM cards. Here are the 5 craziest mistakes I have seen people make:
- Writing down their PIN on a post-it note attached to their ATM. Yes, folks! Believe it or not, some people still do this. And you know what I don’t understand is that these people are intelligent and smart and brilliant!
- Announcing PIN numbers to officemates and using the same PIN for computer logins. You know what happened? The ATM got stolen and the thief was able to withdraw everything. Duh moment?
- Asking someone to withdraw money for you. Spouses are probably a logical exception to the rule, but the friend, driver, messenger, or helper? You’re setting yourself up for something that will only hurt.
- Using birthdays, anniversaries etc. as PIN or password. Come on, it won’t take a serious hacker to crack that code.
- Tossing credit cards or ATMs somewhere convenient when in a hurry. Hey, if it gets lost and you discover it a week later, it would be hard to convince the credit card company to reverse any fraudulent charges.
Someday, I will get the courage to create a tin medal to put around the neck of some people I know who do these things. Really.
September 7th, 2008 at 2:09 am
hehehe, i feel like you were writing this for moi! guilty on number 3 and 4! until someone - you’re right was able to withdraw money on my ATM card in Atlantic City - of all places! not much though about $200, but my bank credited back my account after all my royal wailing and everything hehehe you know sometimes you get all these stupid attacks hahaha
September 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I always attach a post-it note to my ATM card, but its not my PIN, its my to-do list. While in a grocery store, someone also noticed this ATM with post-it in my wallet, she thought it was my PIN, I just stared at her and grinned.
Now, i just discovered the power of my very old yet feature-packed phone. So byebye post-it. Sorry 3M, but it would save me some penny and will make the environmentalists happy also. : )
September 1st, 2008 at 11:30 am
I used to stuff my dad’s old credit cards in my wallet when I was in grade school. Not that I would show off (since he and I bear the same name, thus, it would have looked like I owned those cards). I just wanted to feel “sophisticated”.
Now, at my mid-20s, I only have an ATM card…and that’s it…at least, as of yet.
September 1st, 2008 at 10:47 am
Speaking of companies mailing activated credit cards, I just received a new (and already activated) card in the mail, the letter saying that it’s supposedly “better looking” than my previous card. I personally don’t care what my card looks like, I was perfectly happy with my old one. Why do credit companies do these unnecessary things?
September 1st, 2008 at 8:59 am
Do not forget withdrawing from Cirrus Maestro, ang laki ng transaction charge nila since converted yung dollar charge.
I personally would never ever use a credit card for purchase.