Interesting scary Experience at Lowes (regarding ID theft)

[BlueJazz]

I'll make this short and Sweet:

I'm in line, at Cashiers, in Lowes Home Improvement.
The Man in front of me had apparently ordered some bathroom Fixtures.
He's asked his Name, Address and phone Number.
He pays for it with a Credit Card..(Which he has to swipe)
plus he has to enter his Pin Number.

Dig This: I now know this guy's Name, his Address, his Phone Number,
his Credit Card Number, and his Pin Number. (I've got a great Memory but I could have EASILY written it down)

Man oh Man..And people wonder why "Identity Theft" is so prevalent.

I'm going to email Lowes and ask if there is a better way to do transactions like that...
'cause that way truly Sucks!

[msongs]

1. never been asked for a pin number at lowes before nt

[BlueJazz]

3. He wanted "Cash Back" (you can do that with certain CC's ..

..in certain states.

[MindPilot]

2. I've never been asked for any of that information at Lowe's

and I go there a lot--at least once a week. I swipe my card, sign the touch screen, and I'm done. I can understand the PIN if he was paying with a debit card, but he should know enough to kind of hunch over the keypad so no one can watch him enter the number.

[BlueJazz]

4. If you Special Order stuff, they often do ask you for info.

They have asked me several times when placing orders.
Although, it might have somthing to do with the store's policies at that location or the laws (in that state)

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Very little "ID theft" is the result of this sort of situation

Credit card fraud does happen from shoulder surfing and it is worth calling out a retailer with such a policy, but most ID theft happens because of information available away from retail like insecure web sites, data left on laptops, and insider sale or misuse of data.

I wish that consumer reporters would focus on the real threats rather than harping on consumer vigilance with paper shredders and the like. Ten years ago cautious consumer behavior was the best inoculant against credit card fraud but no more. Now as consumers we have very little direct control. This is why legislative action is necessary to curb so called "ID theft."

[BlueJazz]

6. Good Point. I guess I was just "taken away'" with how easy it was..

..to know a lot about this stranger. :)
(without even wanting to...)

[no_more_rhyming]

8. Actually

Twice I have had my credit card information compromised while on business in San Bernadino 2 different times a few years ago. Once by a hotel clerk and once by a waitress. Both were arrested and it was discovered that they sold my information to the same person. I have traveled dozens of time since then with no other problems.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Yes, classic insider sale of data.

There was nothing that you could have done to anticipate it or prevent it, short of not using a credit card.

How odd that they both sold it to the same person.

[sandnsea]

13. It actually happens at the mail box

By street-surfing tweakers. And the insider theft, meaning the insider minimum wage worker. Identity theft was a huge problem long before the internet.

[Gormy Cuss]

16. Yes, forgot the mailbox freaks and dumpster divers.

The low tech methods are still out there, but the high tech ones are where the broadest "ID thefts" occur these days. Identity theft was a problem before businesses began storing all data electronically but it was harder to do on a grand scale without the technology. It was also easier then to protect yourself by control of your credit cards and credit slips, locking the mailbox, and shredding documents. Now one can do all that and still be very exposed because of inadequate privacy and security safeguards at the business end of the transactions.

It took legislation to force all retailers to obscure the credit card number on receipts. One would think that the credit card companies would think of imposing this on their own as a loss prevention tool, but it didn't happen.

[MadHound]

7. Simply one more reason not to have a CC

Can't have a CC number ripped off that you don't have in the first place.

[LisaL]

9. Then how are you going to buy things?

Going around with lots of cash isn't exactly the safest thing either.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Going around with lots of cash isn't necessary most of the time.

And there are other quaint devices like money orders and cashier's checks that one can use for big purchases. There are also stored value cards.

[MadHound]

12. LOL, gee, the same way we did twenty years ago.

By check, or cash, or money order, or cashiers check. I still do it all the time. I carry around twenty to forty dollars for small purchases, gas, coffee, etc. For the rest I bring along a check book.

Wow, thanks for making me feel real old. I thought I wouldn't hear that question for another twenty years at least. :hi:

[sandnsea]

14. It's comical isn't it

We're cash and carry people too. They even have pre-paid "credit cards" that provide all the advantage of a credit card with no chance of thousands of dollars being stolen. If the money ain't on the card, it don't work. That's what we use online and when traveling. Otherwise we pay cash. One credit card is for major emergency only.

[MadHound]

15. Comical and sad at the same time.

People willingly pay for these and other "conviences", credit cards that lead to ID theft, cell phones that are being used to track your movement, Onstar, that listens in to your car conversations. We, as a people, are putting on these shackles of 1984 on willingly.