Dick, I have no doubt that someone
working at Ming's Diner may have had something to do with this, just as I am sure that someone working at the restaurant in Toronto where my credit card number was used had something to do with it's use. After all, how many places do you know of where you can order dinner and give them your cc number but
no cold, hard, plastic
Granted, my fraudulent charge was a mere $120 or so - hardly the magnitude of yours!! However, if $3,500 bills aren't uncommon at Ming's, then it might have been a a few days before the alarm went off.
And Tacit is correct about the chargebacks and the banks not being interested in doing much about the fraud. It doesn't cost
them a cent. So why should they worry? Merchants on the other hand, are taking a bath. Some are now requiring the three digit security number from the back of a card to confirm any online purchases. Others are confirming via telephone, any sales being delivered to an address other than the billing address. Still others seem to be confirming just about EVERY sale via telephone - and bugging you to buy more stuff in the process. All of this costs the merchants (and ultimately, the consumer) money. It doesn't cost the banks anything at all.
