Pages

Friday, May 27, 2016

plasticized

SOURCE




Happy Friday.  Today is Meego's last day of school.  He has final exams in math and English.  Gone are the elementary school days of end-of-year parties.

I was thinking about that this morning because I remembered how the end of the year used to sort of sneak up on me.  *BAM!* it would be here, and I'd be scrambling to get gifts for teachers and get snacks for the parties.  No such things in high school *sigh of relief*








A couple of days ago, Meego asked if he could buy a game online.  He typically purchases computer games from Steam.  I let him use our credit card, then he pays me.  So he asked to buy one and I said okay.

A few minutes later, he says to me from the other room, "I put the information in, now it's asking me for a bunch of other information, so maybe you should come check."

I was lazy busy, so I just asked him, "What other 'bunch of other' information is it asking you for?"

"It's asking for the last 4 digits of your social security number..."

HOLD THE PHONE!

He'd gone to a different site, on the advice of a friend, to try to get a better price.  Needless to say, we stopped that transaction.  Shortly afterwards, Magnum and I both got calls from the fraud alert department at our credit card company.

I spoke with someone I could barely understand, but I'm pretty sure, in the end, it all got straightened out.  Apparently, that particular site is a known danger, so I told Meego he was right to be suspicious and stop the purchase. He said his friend purchased from them, however...

It was a good lesson for him, but our credit card was sacrificed in the process.  I'm awaiting the new ones which should arrive in "fi to sebben beez kneez dis", which I think translates to about a week.  But I could be wrong.



Despite the communication troubles, I do appreciate these fraud alert departments.  We've dealt with them a few times in the past - sometimes to verify legitimate purchases, and a few times to catch some bad guys.   And it so happens that this is the only credit card we use, so in the meantime, I'm credit-card-less.

So as I patiently await the arrival of the new cards - which may or may not be chip-and-pin.  My translation powers had been exhausted by that point - I'm trying to not buy anything while catching up on some projects around the house.

Yesterday, I was in the back yard, where we do nothing to control the dandelions other than mow them down when they get too tall.  Napolion was out there enjoying our bumper crop of dandelions while scoping out the bumper crop of baby bunnies.  I wish bunnies ate dandelions.


Kitty in the... erm... "garden"

.


16 comments:

Tee said...

Happy end of the school year! That image is hysterical!

Smart kid, that Meego, catching on to a suspicious website. Sorry you lost your credit card in the process.

I know the dandelions can be frustrating, but yours made for an amazing picture of Napolion!

Abby said...

I think Napolion imagines himself a mighty lion in the long grass of the Savannah, considering killing and eating a gazelle. Don't tell him it's just dandelions and bunnies.

LL Cool Joe said...

That someecard is so funny.

Geez I thought our back lawn had a few weeds and I was out there today squirting them with weed killer, but yours takes First Prize!

We've had our credit card hacked into more than once. It's a real pain in the butt. Hope you get your new one soon.

Abby said...

We do weed control in the front yard, but let them have a wild orgy in the back yard. They only last about 3 weeks or so and then it's too dry. The bunnies have their orgies year round.

Sparkling Red said...

Bees have six legs, ergo, six knees, so five to seven bees knees seems like a reasonably accurate estimate.

ShadowRun300 said...

School's out! I remember when I used to shout it from the rooftops. Now, school's out means the house is jammed packed with kids and all their stuff. Um, not that that's a bad thing.
Good for Meego to catch the scam before it was too late. Nice that most banks are good at catching possible fraud very quickly. Waiting for a new card is a minor inconvenience considering what could have happened.
I think your customer service guy was a guest in our hotel this weekend.

Anita said...

Ohhh the pain of the last month of school! Mine has winded down over the last few years, but not enough. Piano recital, child's 16th May b'day, Mother's Day, my Mom's May b'day, award ceremony, senior showcase for 18 y.o. graduating daughter, college prep, shopping for used car for soon-to-be driving daughter, blah, blah, blah...

Good catch on the potential credit fraud! ...and don't 'cha just love using your foreign language listening skills.

Happy belated birthday to your smart kid. :)

Anita said...

or would that be "wound down"
I need to go to bed :)

Abby said...

By George, I think you're right!

Abby said...

Yeah, "School's out!" has wholly different connotations when you work at a school vs. when you don't!
I'm really noticing how much we use a credit card now that it's not around.

Abby said...

May really is jam-packed with "events". And I also had to find a used car for Meego to learn on - such a relief to have that done. Good luck!

Snowbrush said...

One thing I like about cats—versus kids—is that they’re not a security risk, but at least your boy called you into the room. Still, if he didn’t complete the sale, why did the fraud people call? The seller must have put the sale through anyway.

I showed the credit card cartoon to my wife, because for nearly all of our 44-year marriage, I did the shopping, so now that she’s retired, she often goes with me, and I encourage her to make the payment. She’s unable to overcome her anxiety about this, and often stands there wondering why nothing happened when she scanned her card the wrong way.

Abby said...

Apparently the evil retailer accepted the account number and tried to complete the sale even though Meego cancelled. The cat has yet to compromise our security, but I wouldn't put it past him.

And just tell your wife to remember "strip down facing me" is how stuff gets done.

Snowbrush said...

Even with strip facing down, there are two ways to turn it, and now that cards that you insert end-first are appearing, it’s a further complication. Peggy isn’t QUITE phobic of shopping but close enough to phobic that I would have to be in a body cast for her to do it alone. She’s a funny girl in regard to what scares her. She’s climbed high mountains with ropes, but is scared silly every time she hears an airplane pass overhead or sees the tiniest spider.

Unknown said...

...my exact fear of paying stuff online.
I only buy movie tickets online, from a safe phone app.
I had a friend who got swindled when buying a bag online.

Abby said...

I have a fear of paying through phone apps.