Recent Target Revelation and your Debit/Credit Card

Is it just me or has this come as a wake up call for personal privacy and banking protection?

I remember when the debit card first hit the scene. In California, a certain gas station charged you if you used the debit card, a 20 cent transaction fee. But the banks were pushing the use, because it would reduce the number of humans it would take process your purchases, and some would reward you for not using checks and swiping instead.

It seems we have come full circle! It just might be safer to use checks again.

I shopped at Target during the recent data theft, not once but several times. It is the closest multi-retailer (general merchandise/groceries/pharmacy) to me. I don’t have any idea, if any of my data was stolen. I waited about 3 days:

• to see what Target would tell us
• listened to the news about what we should do
• and then I went to the banks.

So far the only answer that has really been given is monitor your statements. I don’t know about you, but it is not always easy to remember where you spent your money, I mean really… if you manage a house you swipe a lot!!!

We have all been conditioned that the cards are a safe way to transfer money from your account to the retailers account, debit was immediate, and we have been told that credit gives you protection of a credit card. Well I am here to tell you it does not. I did not do an in-depth study, I did not contact any ‘knowitalls’ in the banking/money industry. I did a little reading, here and here, asked a couple of questions and then put that together with some common sense.

I cancelled the possible compromised card and had the bank issue a new one. We monitor our accounts almost daily. It is so easy these days, but even with a checkbook, I forget that I WROTE a check and that is nearly as rare as hens teeth! After living in South Africa, where banking fraud, skimming credit cards, and phishing scams are frequent we are more vigilant than ever about banking and theft.To prove the point, the DH was looking at the banking info the on Monday, he asked did I buy anything from a place called Tickets Direct in Utah for $300 plus? Nope. He immediately called the bank to report the fraud (and cancelled the card). It took 4 days for it to be resolved, but the money was taken from our account while the charge was pending and eventually reversed. If you were living close to the ‘bank balance’ edge, then a $300 charge could cause problems. For the record, a CREDIT CARD is the only card that has real consumer protections, a DEBIT CARD does NOT!

To protect ourselves, we have opened another checking account. This one is not linked to our main account. It is with the same bank for easy transfer of money from one account to the other. Now we will have an account for shopping in the stores and online (-along with PayPal), and if compromised the thieves won’t get everything, just the limited funds we add to the account. I don’t want to wade through the mess if someone got access to the main account…. mortgage payment, insurance payments, utilities -never mind all the fees the bank will charge for overdrafts and the letter writing. The loss of actual money is not the worst thing that can happen. Your credit will be damaged and your identity could also be stolen or severely compromised. What I don’t understand is why the banks have not encouraged everyone to cancel the card they used at Target or other compromised retailer? It will cost a few cents… but better that than bankrupt customers.

What have you been told? What are you doing to protect yourself?

More later. Beth

Toasted

Do you have a toaster that you like? That actually toasts the toast without burning it? Would you please tell me what brand?

When we left the US to go to South Africa, most of our things were going to be left in storage. So I got rid of our simple appliances like the toaster because you never really ever get all the crumbs out of them and I didn’t want to attract any bugs to our stuff. The toaster wasn’t very special…It only toasted 2 slices at a time, but the slots were wide for bagels and had a place on the end for holding the bagel while you sliced it. When you toasted a bagel on the bagel setting, it only toasted the the cut side (assuming you put the bagel in with the cut sides toward the center). I only paid $14 for it. It was white. I really miss it.

When we finally moved into our house, I purchased a new toaster. A GE toaster, about $25. Nothing really special… it had wide slots, only held 2 pieces of toast at a time, a toast setting dial -light to dark, and several settings… like warm, bagel, toast and defrost. It didn’t do any of those things well. In addition, for some reason the toaster companies have decided to toast both sides of the bagel on the bagel setting. And toasting… it didn’t do that either. Bread was either under toasted or burned. I just couldn’t find the happy medium. So I took it back.

Next I purchased a Oster Toaster. I paid a bit more for it, $49, thinking I would get toast. All the same features, except this one will do 4 slices of bread or bagels at a time. Although I don’t know why I would need to toast that many slices. There is only 2 of us most of the time. But it isn’t any better than the GE. It either under toasts or burns a part of the bread. Why it has so many choices for light or dark toast is beyond me. Because it only does two of the 8 choices- very light resembling stale bread or burned. As for the bagel setting, yep, both sides. The only part of a bagel I want toasted is the cut side! I also use this for when I want a bun toasted for a hot sandwich or burger… I would take it back, but I didn’t keep or lost the receipt… but that is a lesson learned. I will keep the receipt… and take crappy products back!

Do these companies test their products? Where do they get their focus groups for product features and benefits.  Of all the new features -I- really only want 2, a piece of toasted dark enough for a bit of crunch -not burned (anywhere) and a bagel toasted on the cut side. Is that too much to ask?

Do you have a toaster that toasts toast? Only does the cut side of the bagel?Would you share the brand and model? And hopefully it does not cost an arm and a leg or take up a huge amount of counter space. Something else I am in short supply of.

And because we need a picture… not of a toaster!

A landscape from South Africa. They are just now coming into spring…. which is very short…. before going to a nice long summer.

I’m Guilty, are You?

I often visit a blog… read all or part of the post and then leave without leaving a comment.

Its rude. Its unkind. Lacks courtesy and respect. Someone took the time to write, share or express an opinion…. an experience…. we should respond often. Maybe not all the time or every time, but often.

Part of the reason, (for me anyway and maybe others) is when I use a reader, it frames the page…. minus the comment form, so you have to go to the page to leave a comment. Or it really wasn’t what you expected to find based on an Internet search, or sometimes, I read on a tablet (I hate typing on the virtual keyboards), especially in a Blog Reader, (where the comment you have written disappears with the slightest of ease). Or as in the case of Google and Wordpress, I was having major errors when trying to leave a comment… and often left multiples of the same comment or no comment at all! I discovered that for the Blogger errors it was a setting I had in my own blogger dashboard and I think I fixed Wordpress by enabling a Gravatar.

I would often only read the blogs regularly that I had in my Blog sidebar… and leave comments there because the whole Blog page would load, comment boxes and all. Whereas, when I would use a reader (Google Reader-now defunct, Bloglovin or Feedly) I have to go to the actual Blog to leave a comment, and often I would not read those blogs as regularly and let them stack up so there were many to read!!! So yes I am guilty.

I thought a reader would make things easier…. but not if you want to leave a comment… The Readers all behave differently on the various devices…. (computer, tablet, phone). Some devices are better than the others. I like using the readers, because adding or deleting content is so much easier than using the Blog sidebar, but I want to comment… which completes the circle of my guilt!!!

I am going to have to come up with a better way… so I can come clean and comment more regularly on blogs that I read, especially if I like the content, or have a suggestion, or experience, or….maybe even completely disagree. I’m sure the author would like to know- who I am, or what I was doing on the blog, or what brought me to it…. Good or bad.

I know I would love feed back, good, bad or indifferent!!! Did you like something, hate something, have a different perspective, want to correct an assumption I’ve made or give me some background/history, or identify a bird? a flower? or ….  If, it is too personal to relate in the comment field, I have added an email button, which will only appear in my inbox… not on the blog…

Are you GUILTY too? Why don’t you comment on blogs you are visiting?

    … and because a picture is always needed. This is the portrait of a Southern Hornbill taken at the Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park on our first visit to the park in 2010. I have been revisiting my pictures. Doesn’t he have a fierce expression?

More Later- Beth