Friday, August 29, 2003
Technology Saved Me A Bundle Of Money!
Posted by Brad Adrian in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 01:00 AM
Most of us here really love technology. Some of us love it because of what it can do for us, while others love it simply because it exists. This week, though, I love technology because it saved me a LOT of money.
The other evening, I got a dinnertime phone call that sounded just like any other solicitation. It was from my primary credit card company, though, so I (wisely) opted not to hang up on the caller. As I listened to what the representative had to say, though, I become very, very interested.
The credit card company's sophisticated customer service applications had uncovered what appeared to be an atypical pattern of spending. I had used the card earlier in the day at a local grocery store, but it was also used at a jewelry store several hundred miles away. That wouldn't be that strange by itself, though, because I travel occasionally and use the card in other cities. However, the combination of distance, timing, purchase amount and type of store threw up a red flag, and we were called just to make sure that the most recent charge was, indeed, legitimate.
As it turns out, it was absolutely NOT legitimate! Somebody had stolen my card number and generated and used a bogus credit card. Luckily, only one transaction had been attempted and I will not be held liable for it. We still have to go through the headaches of closing the account, getting a new card and helping with a criminal investigation, but that's little discomfort compared to what might have happened.
And, WHY was only one fraudulent charge made? Because of the fabulous technology that was used, the total elapsed time between the charge and my determination that it was bogus was -- get this -- less than THREE MINUTES!
Less than three minutes to save me over a thousand dollars. THAT'S why I love technology!
The other evening, I got a dinnertime phone call that sounded just like any other solicitation. It was from my primary credit card company, though, so I (wisely) opted not to hang up on the caller. As I listened to what the representative had to say, though, I become very, very interested.
The credit card company's sophisticated customer service applications had uncovered what appeared to be an atypical pattern of spending. I had used the card earlier in the day at a local grocery store, but it was also used at a jewelry store several hundred miles away. That wouldn't be that strange by itself, though, because I travel occasionally and use the card in other cities. However, the combination of distance, timing, purchase amount and type of store threw up a red flag, and we were called just to make sure that the most recent charge was, indeed, legitimate.
As it turns out, it was absolutely NOT legitimate! Somebody had stolen my card number and generated and used a bogus credit card. Luckily, only one transaction had been attempted and I will not be held liable for it. We still have to go through the headaches of closing the account, getting a new card and helping with a criminal investigation, but that's little discomfort compared to what might have happened.
And, WHY was only one fraudulent charge made? Because of the fabulous technology that was used, the total elapsed time between the charge and my determination that it was bogus was -- get this -- less than THREE MINUTES!
Less than three minutes to save me over a thousand dollars. THAT'S why I love technology!
