A couple of weeks ago, I noticed my corporate credit card was missing. I hadn’t used it in a while, and I just assumed one of the boys had taken it from my wallet when we were playing. I looked all over the place, but couldn’t find it.
Before asking Finance for a new card, I checked my statement on line. Imagine my surprise when I saw six new transactions totalling nearly $500. Someone had taken my card and gone on a little shopping spree in Gatineau. In just a few hours, the little bugger spent:
$64 at Video Super Choix
$60 at two gas stations
$136 at Chez Tante Marie
$142 at the Liquor Store
$55 at Brasserie de l’Ile
Given this useful information and my un-paralleled powers of deduction, I have determined that the thief is at least 18 years old, probably speaks French, watches movies, drives a car (probably an SUV as he / she visited two gas stations on the same day), enjoys alcoholic beverages, and prefers bars to fine dining. What a prick.
Anyway, I had a phone call this morning from BMO Mastercard security, and I figured it was just a follow-up call about the theft. It turns out there were a couple of suspicious attempts at using my personal Mastercard in Montreal over the weekend. Someone at a bar tried to charge $1.00, which the security guy said is a way of testing whether the card information the thief has is useable. Fortunately the guy had the wrong expiration date and the transaction got flagged. In any case, BMO is cancelling my personal card for the second time this year and sending me a new one.
So, the moral of the story? The bad guys are smarter than you. Get rid of all your cards – credit, debit, line of credit, everything. Cash rules. From now on, I’m carrying around a big fat wad of twenties and going gangster.
dearlove.ca 
I once had my Visa card information stolen. It was the clerk from the car rental agency. Visa became suspicious after $900 in charges for phone sex suddenly showed up on my account. Fortunately, I didn’t have to pay for it.
I just received my new Canadian Tire credit card in the mail. I left my old one on my dresser. I used my new one to book a hotel for a get away (over the phone). The next day I saw the credit card sitting on the coffee table and I thought I had better cut that up. So I did right then. Then as I was stuffing the new card in my pocket, I realized I had cut up the wrong card. My new one was in six pieces in the garbage and my old one was intact in my hand and not much good for too much longer…..duh!