Finally!

I just got polled by Rasmussen Reports! I've been contacted by fake polls before, but this is the first time I have ever gotten to participate in a legitimate national political opinion poll. For one day, my opinion matters. I'm thrilled to be able to cast a vote for Obama, the Democratic party, and the Affordable Care Act.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

I'm a victim of Credit Card Fraud

On Wednesday, someone got hold of my Amex Delta credit card number and went on a spending rampage.

On Thursday, the Amex fraud department called me to confirm some "questionable charges."  The activity started with a $3.00 charge at Tesco (a convenience store in England), and continued with about $1,000 worth of merchandise ordered from 4 or 5 websites. Now here's the amazing thing. The only charge that went through was the $3.00 at Tesco. After that, alarm bells went off and ALL the subsequent charges were put on hold until they could be confirmed (and presumably denied after I said that they were not mine).

On Friday I received my replacement credit card via Express UPS.

Wow.  I am impressed by the efficiency of the fraud-detection department.  I have no idea how my account got stolen.  I still have the credit card in my possession.  I almost never use it online, although I do have a couple of automatic monthly charges on that card (Netflix, USI).  I had used the card within the last few days, at Schuler's Shoes and Costco, so I'm inclined to suspect one of those.  But the nice lady from Amex said not to bother trying to figure it out - "There are so many ways they can steal your credit card number.  They can even do it electronically when they walk past you on the street."  Really?  They can do that?  I thought that was still in the realm of things to worry about in the future.  Yikes

I am both freaked out and reassured. Apparently the only thing keeping the entire massive structure of the credit card economy functioning is these fraud detection algorithms.

Has this happened to any of you?