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.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:16 am
[...] 5 stupid ATM and credit card mistakes [...]
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.
September 1st, 2008 at 8:58 am
Thirsty Gozilla, cool!
Ivannn, too funny
September 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am
Steve, I heard that keyloggers in Internet cafes can give the admin the passwords you use. Whenever I need to use these public terminals, I am always required by the paranoid hubby to change my passwords afterwards. Thanks for pointing this out!
September 1st, 2008 at 8:53 am
Hi Roselle! As John pointed out, apparently Pinas shredders are from the dark ages! Thanks for dropping by!
September 1st, 2008 at 8:51 am
@paetechie, and people really do that? omygosh!
@don, my thoughts exactly
September 1st, 2008 at 8:49 am
@John, touche! Hahaha.
September 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
Famous, great tip :). thanks!
September 1st, 2008 at 1:00 am
buti pa ID card o voter’s Id na lang kunin mo, wag na ATM, debit o credit card para hindi mangyari sa iyo ung mga pagkakamali na binanggit lalo na kung wala kang control sa sarili mo. I-cash mo na lang, kung ano lang kaya ng bulsa mo. Iwas ka pa sa gastos na hindi kailangan. O sige adios kabayans.
September 1st, 2008 at 12:48 am
mabuti pa mga kabayan hwag na kumuha ng card sigurado isa man sa mali na binanggit ay mangyayari sa iyo. i-cash mo na lang, iwas ka pa sa gastos kc po pagwala ka pera sa bulsa hindi ka bibili. Self control (ay inglis sorry)para wag gumastos ng hindi kaya.. o sige adios mi patria adorada ( ay spanish sorry uli)
August 31st, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Filipinos are geniuses in IT crimes? really? yung “i love you” virus, di naman pinoy ang originally nag script ng code eh, GINAYA lang ng pinoy ang original code tapos pinalitan lang ang name to “i love you”. sorry pero ang IT knowledge sa pilipinas ay di kasing world-class tulad ng ibang bansa like US, russia, korea, china, japan at india. nangangapa palang tayo, magaling lang tayo mangopya. sorry din dahil na off topic LOL
August 31st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Beware of new credit card scam! There is this “credit collection “agency(RENZELL Collections Inc) that sends threatening letters demanding “full settlement” of unpaid account for credit card accounts(twenty years ago) that actually have been paid!
August 31st, 2008 at 9:19 am
to destroy your credit card, scratch the magnetic portion with a knife or better yet… run a strong magnet through.
August 31st, 2008 at 6:06 am
oh yes!!! my paper shredder can shred credit into fine pieces. Oh wait, sa Pilipinas ka pala thats my you ask, hehehe
August 30th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
the recommended way to destroy cards is to cross-cut with a scissor.
it’s funny because i’ve just posted an entry about the practice of using ATM card as collateral at pawnshops. another silly thing to do instead of reading this blog.
August 30th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Come on, how stupid you have to be to to write PIN on ATM
August 30th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
that is soooo careless of those people who just throw their ATM cards and CCs away when they no longer need them…. remember that Pinoys are very resourceful when it comes to “kalokohan”…
August 30th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
yap i always do shred my credit card old ones, in my shredder
August 30th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I remember a girl at the bank the other day whose wallet was stolen and she was complaining why all her money got lost in her ATM. The first question that the bank manager asked was, “Did you use your birthday as you PIN?”
She said yes. (Her driver’s license was also in the wallet)
You’re right, we can never really be too sure nowadays. Better be safe than sorry.
By the way, I’d like to promote a recent post of mine in my blog, it’s also about this topic:
Credit Card Security Tips and More
Thanks!
August 30th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
There’s shredder that can shred credit cards, cds, dvds, etc into pieces.
August 30th, 2008 at 11:07 am
With all those changing pins after a few months and a few dozen of cards over the years, my brain, as of today, has frozen to take another pin so I decided to put my pins on my phone. One day…I lost my phone - what a nightmare!
There has to be a way to remember pins for a certain card, otherwise, post it - is still the way to go, hehehe, seriously!
August 30th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Another mistake I might add is using publicly used computers in paying bills or shopping in the internet via credit card. Identity thieves are getting sophisticated. So its better to be safe than sorry.
August 30th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Cutting them with scissors to pieces will suffice.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:28 am
duh moment? - so gay! haha
August 29th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
i think ordinary shredders can do it pero it is not advised to do so kasi mabubungi agad ang shredder. mas maganda siguro na way to dispose of old credit cards is :
1. cut it to many small pieces.
2. bury it 6 feet below the ground on different places and dont leave any markings like “here lies my old credit card, name is ______ . credit card # _______.” hehehe
August 29th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
One thing you can do with old cards–
ATM and cred cards– use them to roll tape. Use them to roll Masking tape and Duct tape on one card and Cellophane tape on the other. You can slide this on your wallet and they come in handy for any emergency where mending is needed.
Another is to stick your spare key and make it a card key… Lifehacker.com has very good ideas on what you could do with stuff…
August 29th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Normally when you receive your card, there’s a note to destroy your old card but I’m guilty coz I keep my old card/ATM
August 29th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
hay naku, sinabi mo. it drove me crazy…really
shredder? ikaw naman, guntingin mo na lang! :). ahhh…wait lang, nasa Japan ka nga pala. that explains it heeheehee. peace!
August 29th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
re: PIN written on ATM… ’sus ka-buang, ‘day!
just like having house key w/ house address written.
to destroy ur old card… can an ordinary paper shredder shred it? (hindi ata, no?)