I shredded my debit card. Never used it.

I have a credit card that I use as if it were a debit card - I pay off the balance every month. I use it for everything I can that I would ordinarily pay cash for, groceries, gas, and so on.

I get frequent flyer miles on the card. When you get enough miles, you get almost free flights, all you have to pay is the airport tax (and extra luggage or whatever).

I flew to Alaska for $14, England for $32 and Hungary for less than $60.

The trick is to never carry a balance, as the interest rate on those affinity cards is very high.

I've also read stories about thieves putting card readers in ATM machines and pinhole cameras to record your PIN number. Truth or urban legend? I don't know and never pursued it since I don't do debit cards, and if they get my credit card info, I'm not liable.

I have had any more multi-thousand dollar orders from Russia or anywhere else. Just the normal small to moderate sales. Too bad the big one got away

With all this ID theft going around, I chose my shopping cart because they have the best security record in the business, and they allow me to delete my customer's credit card numbers from their server when I feel there is no longer a chance for a problem. Since I hired the Internet Authorization company, there is no need for me to see the customer's credit card number, unless there is a problem, so I don't download them. That way if one of my customers has the problem, I know it didn't come from me. If all Internet merchants did the same, it might help a little.

But then, the crooks will only figure out another way to do it.

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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