Thank you 4 sharing. Many times I say no as well. Pls update us if police tells you how scam works.

Wow! There is only one place where I say no thanks for a receipt, but I have my eyes on my card at all times. We also stopped using our debit card (except at the bank's ATM) for a variety of reasons and only use a credit card for purchases. We pay all CC's in full every month. Please keep us posted as this story unfolds.

We were once doubled charged for a meal at a local "fancy" restaurant. When I called to tell the manager, he was offended when I asked if this had ever happened before. This town is very popular with out-of-state folks who are spending lots of money in one or two days and it would be very easy to get away with doing this often. Honestly, his quick defensiveness led us to surmise he was in on a routine scam. Had he said he was sorry, was sure it was a mistake, etc, we wouldn't have given it another thought.

I was thinking, it's one thing to steal thousands of card numbers anonymously from a data base. It's pretty nervy to look right at a person and say "Enjoy your meal" and immediately use their card to pay for your online groceries.

I have a setup to text me on charges $50+ but it’s an easier crime to charge $20 at a time, in my case it’d take longer to notice. Once when my card was compromised, the modus operandi was to charge a penny, if it went thru, they’d immediately charge xyz amount.

I don't take receipts because the ink is carcinogenic. I know i sound nutty.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/the-health-risk-of-bpa-in-receipts/index.htm

Also, you are not liable for fraud. Fraud is the bank's problem. People worry about it far too much.

^^^ My debit and credit card accounts send a text to my phone every time they are used.

At one time I might have thought that was overkill but not anymore. I never use a debit card for purchases anymore, only for cash at an ATM but I'm going to see if that texting option is available on our cards. OTOH I try NEVER to give my cell # and use our old IL landline # when I must give one to cut down on cr@p calls to my cell. I kept that # thru Ooma as a back-up in case we decided to move back (yes I'm officially nuts but I've had that # since 1978 and I'm sentimental!!!) and the only calls we get to that # are junk. Oh, and the occasional wrong number with a long winded message often from someone who sounds elderly. I always call back to let them know they reached the wrong #.

d_gw do keep us posted.

BTW, the banks have neural network AI technology that looks for things just like that .... a very small charge to establish a card works (often at a gas pump), followed by a large charge

I personally can absorb an extra $70 charge for a few days with no worries. But I do feel for the victims that use debit cards and are counting their pennies. It eventually gets corrected but not without worry and hassle. That's why I think we should all be vigilant. Not so much for our own purposes but to protect others as well.

I also think when something like this happens that customers with large accounts and long histories are treated more efficiently than someone who has perhaps previously overdrawn their account or only has a small balance.

I carry enough cash (from bank's ATM) to pay for small purchases. A card at a drive-thru? Every time you use a card, you expose yourself. If you can afford to absorb an extra $70 charge with no worries, then get $100 in cash to pay for the latte or the drive-thru lunch.

sushi - We use one credit card for everything because of the perks from the credit card company. I never carry cash and never use a debit card. We pay off the credit card every month.

We having been doing it for years. I personally don't feel financially exposed because we get excellent service from our card company when there are issues.

But I do agree that thieves are more savvy than ever. So then it becomes an issue of weighing the benefits of the perks versus the occasional potential hassle. ???

I am positively phobic of receipts. I never take them. My husband's pockets are full of them though.

I agree with Mtn. The AI/neural nets the banks use work very well. The technology in Palantir grew out of the technology PayPal developed to detect fraud.

I rarely use a drive through but if I do I always pay cash. Otherwise, I always ask for receipts. Always.

I use my debit card all the time for bricks and mortar purchases and keep a close eye on the transactions - easy to do on my phone. I like the ease of downloading all my transactions into Quicken for the simplicity of bank reconciliation and tracking my expenditures. On the other hand I dread sorting out all the Amazon purchases on my credit card.

I had one weird additional pending charge recently after purchasing gas - at the same gas station. I happened to have a receipt because I got a car wash. Otherwise I don't get them for gas. I went into the store that evening and they had no record of it in their system. I contacted my bank and they said it may go away once the transaction went to posted from pending. It did.

I've never had a fraudulent charge on my debit card. I've had a few on my credit cards that I've detected right away (also easy to check on my phone). I use the CC for all online or phone transactions.

I have just two credit cards (one through my bank) and one debit card which makes it relatively easy to monitor my accounts regularly.

"Also, you are not liable for fraud. Fraud is the bank's problem. People worry about it far too much."

I don't think so. I would much rather try and prevent the fraud than try and unravel and fix it later. We had someone charge a $3500 computer on our card. It was shipped to our house and the shipper didn't think anything about it because it was going to the address on the card. The "buyer" then got the tracking number and had the package re-directed to a FedEx pick up point. At that time, they should have asked for ID, but didn't (mmm wonder why?). So the bank said we were liable because my "husband" had signed for it. It took us 4 months to get it cleared up. We had to prove that he was physically 50 miles away at work when the package was picked up. Nobody involved with the transaction would give us information. It was a nightmare.

Thanks for that heads up!

About the only time I don't take a receipt is @ the gas pump or my bank ATM - both automated situations.

I also have my credit cards set up to alert me if anything over $1 is charged. I do it through email tho.

I do nothing involving money on my Android phone.

ALWAYS get a receipt. If a charge is questioned/disputed, you will have your receipt as proof. A friend of ours once had a policeman chase him down following his purchase of gas. Apparently someone had gotten gas then left without paying. It wasn't our friend though and he had the receipt to show. No banking/purchases, etc. on my phone either.

I do banking and online purchases all the time on my phone but never on public wi-fi.

I never use drive-throughs, but once when I was pedestrian in Austin, TX, I had to stand in line at a drive-through to go to an ATM, as the bank did not have a walk-up window. I also never go to fast-food restaurants, either drive-through or walk-in.

For me, it is an inconvenience if my credit card gets stolen and the bank puts a hold on my account until I get a new card, as I only have one credit card. I would consider getting another one, but I have all my credit reports frozen, ever since the Sony hack when my brother's personal information was hacked. I would have to unfreeze at least one of them to get another card.

I almost didn't get a receipt at a restaurant in NYC and then decided to get it. Good thing as it had the code on it to get access to the rest room!!

After a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton last fall, I was gathering up my receipts and noticed I was charged for the same lunch twice. Not a big amount, which is why I probably didn't pay much attention when I got my usual emailed notice of a charge to my card. I called the restaurant and they credited the $25 for one of the lunches back to me. Without the receipt, I may not have noticed at all. I always take the receipt. I would worry more for the cashiers as far as the ink being carcinogenic.

My cards have been compromised three times and stolen from my desk at work once. I had a similar experience as annac54. A couple of computers were charged to my card and shipped to me but the address was changed mid-shipment. I never had to pay any of it once I reported the theft.

The CC companies are so blase about the whole thing. my son had $15,000 worth of lighting supplies charged to his card. He reported it immediately and the card company said he would not be responsible. He asked if the company that had been duped would be informed and they said no. He then called the lighting supply company who thanked him profusely, saying the order was sitting on their loading dock, about to be picked up by a trucking company. My son would not have had to pay but the lighting company would have been out $15K worth of merchandise.

Yep, if I use a card, I get a receipt. Several years ago, a friend declined a receipt at a golf course. Within minutes she got a call from her husband who said the CC company called about an unusual charge.

I get text messages also. Comes in handy since our card gets compromised at least once a year. Very aggravating! You'll love this one that happened to me Nov 2016:

"Thank you to the a$$hat that stole our credit card number and ordered this fugly pair of shoes.... FOR $1,382.71!!!! Unless DH has moved to Brooklyn without telling me!!! Are these for men?! Seriously, if you're going to steal our CC number, at least have good taste!!!! After calling Visa, I called BG and stopped the order from processing so they won't be getting these lovelies!! Please, get a job and pay for your own translucent tennis shoes!

Yes. Really.

Are these not THE fugliest shoes you have EVER SEEN!? BG gave me the mailing address. Some apartment building in the Bronx and his name was "Kevin Smith."

“Fraud is the bank's problem.”

Fraud is everyone’s problem. Sure, you, the cardholder, have a limited liability for the specific incident in which you card was compromised. But, someone is going to pay. The bank will try to make the merchant responsible. This can be the end for some businesses. Kudos to dedtired’s son for taking the initiative to save the lighting store.

If the bank cannot make the merchant responsible than we all bear the cost. Higher fees for card acceptance to businesses which we pay as higher cost of goods.

Am I somewhat missing the point? Getting your receipt does not insure that they will not run your number at some other point. They have your number, exp date and CCV. What is keeping them from either running it two times when they have it or using the it later?

I just opened this thread to ask the same question ^^^.

RNmom, you are right, the receipt doesn't stop a person from using the card later. In my case however, the fraud did seem to hinge on if you wanted your receipt or not. I and the others who got scammed did not get receipts, did not have a restaurant charge on our cards (even though we were given totals and were given food) and had fraud charges occur about the same time we visited the restaurant.

So, I don't know the specifics of how the fraud worked but in this case, asking for a receipt seem to put a damper on the scammer's efforts.

If you’re signing the charge receipt you’re already exposed to BPA. I think if you check the risk assessments you’ll find that the associated increased risk is to the store personnel, which is why stores are changing their print systems. Consumers would have to make a lot of credit card purchases every day to have a cancer risk greater than 1 x 10(-6).

I had one weird additional pending charge recently after purchasing gas - at the same gas station. I've heard that some gas stations will put a 'hold' charge on your card if you fill up, that's to ensure that the purchase will go thru. The balance is then not charged or reversed, I can't remember what that was.

It's kind of like when you rent a car or some hotels, they put a hold amount on your card to cover any extras.

As to the OP, no i seldom get receipts. I check my bank account on-line daily. I've been very fortunate to not have had any fraudulent charges on my debit or my credit cards. I've been considering doing the use one cc for purchases and pay it off monthly, but just haven't gotten around to doing that yet.

I've had a couple of frights-once when I dropped my debit card at the airport and didn't realize it until I went to go buy a drink. I immediately transferred the money out of my account to another account that the card is not linked to and notified my bank to cancel my debit card. Luckily I had brought a cc with me on that trip or I'd have been up a creek since I rarely carry more than $20 cash on me at any time.

I've only ever had my CC compromised once, and that was YEARS ago. It seems to be a more common occurrence in the USA?? In Canada we use the chip/PIN technology exclusively on our debit and credit cards. I understand it's much harder to steal information from these cards, or to clone them. It's rare that anyone besides me ever handles my card. When I make a purchase I put my card in the machine, enter my PIN, and I'm done. Even at the drive-thru they hand the machine out the window. There is never receipt that needs to be signed - I actually can't remember the last time I signed a CC receipt.

You can still get a printed receipt of course, but none of my CC details are included on it. The number is usually displayed as **** **** **** 1518 or something like that.

Ouch! Unless it for something electronic or expensive, I always decline the receipt, and indeed even lose them if I happen to take one, by the time I get home. (I do watch to retain the electronic/expensive ones...) Interesting.

I got caught in a credit card scam about 15 or so years ago... at a restaurant where when the waiter took the card to ring it up, apparently he copied the number while out of my sight. A fair number of people got trapped in that particular scam.

Two years later, that same restaurant got called out for the same scam, again! (They closed shortly after.)

So, okay, an addendum... I always take my receipt at restaurants (and I may have that specific night but I can't remember), though I dispose of them at some point... but they don't need to know that. (smhinnb, do they handle CCs at restaurants in Canada differently than down here in the US, or do you just never dine out and use a CC at one?)

Canada and many places, use chip&pin technology. In the US, we are now converting from mag stripe to chip&signature.

Chip&pin is more secure. Your card never leaves your hand. Restaurants, for example, bring portable devices to you table for you to insert your card, enter tip, complete transaction.

Canada also mandates transaction MACing.

Yes, exactly like localeater says. The waitress either brings a portable chip machine right to the table, or sometimes you stop to pay at the front counter on your way out. Most restaurants (and spas, etc.) have their machine set up so that it asks if you want to add a tip, recalculates the total, etc. You do the entire transaction yourself, your card never leaves your hand.

New this month (April 2018), credit card issuers may no longer require any signature. I think this applies to chip-reader transactions only, but I can't be sure how this will work in reality.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16884814/visa-chip-emv-signatures-north-america-credit-card-april-2018

For example, IKEA doesn't use the chip reader because it slows transactions.

Artemis...Your post reminded me that several years ago we ate lunch in a nearby town that derives much of its income from visitors who are on vacation. It is a shopping destination, so I assume many of the people dining at this restaurant are using their cards multiple times for eating, lodging, shopping, and entertainment.

The day after our meal, I was checking our CC account and saw that we had been charged twice ($60x2 which is more than we usually spend for lunch, but it was a special occasion). I called and spoke with the manager who acted quite insulted that I would even question their integrity. Hmmm. If I had been that manager, I would have been apologizing for the error instead. That caused us to wonder if it was indeed an error and not a scam they tried often on unsuspecting tourists.

I tip my hair stylist in cash but pay for the service on my cc. That’s pretty much what I do with anything that I am leaving a tip for, and most are happy that I tip generously and with cash when I am happy with the service provided. Even when lunch was less than ideal for reasons uncontrolled by the server, they get tipped based on the part they did have the ability to provide great service with and I don’t leave the salon unless I’m happy with my hair because it’s on them to fix it but if they have to I won’t be back to have it done later.

We don’t use our debit card nearly as much when we can put it on the cc and pay off in full every month, and I keep track of every charge for our budgeting month to month and monitor our accounts. Taxes are done as of last month! Now for the rest of the year planning... lol

If asked I will say no. A lot of places I shop that ask don't print one unless you say yes. I have often wondered if my CC information is on them which it is not. I check the receipts I do get, and haven't seen anything that would help someone steal from me. My guess is the person at said restaurant is just out right stealing CC numbers.

Where I live no one ever brings a device to your table in a restaurant to take a debit/credit card payment.

When we went to Europe a couple of years ago, the advice was that you needed chip cards, so that's what we got. Every place we used the cards, we were either at a stationary check out, or they brought a device to read it to you (at your table). The cards were never out of our hands. We have a few restaurants in our area now that have a payment device that's on the table for you to use.

I suspect the no receipt scam operates something like this -- they ask if you would like a receipt when you hand them the card. You say yes, they run it as they should and hand you the receipt for your purchase. If you say no thanks, they run the card or get the info, probably using their phone or a device set next to the card reading terminal. When they take a break or get a slow spot, they use that scanned card to pay for their purchase on their phone. The card was never used for the proper purchase, so I wonder if they cover by paying for the meals or if the restaurant gets stiffed on those. Pretty gutsy, but in a drive through, you usually can't see the card reader so you wouldn't know until you see the charge. Have a nice day..... Geez.

We got a fraud alert on my husband's card. Someone ordered $10k of custom blinds to be shipped overseas. We told them it was not us and the bank declined it -- but the shop in Louisiana making the blinds had not been notified by the bank. DH said he just had a feeling and called them -- they were about to fill the order and would have been out $10k if he had not. A short time later, something similar happened with my card but it was $200 in T-shirts ordered from someplace in North Carolina. A long time ago, there was a small one from a smoke shop somewhere. Anyone who knows me would know that would not have been me. They always seem to follow those news stories about some big company getting hacked.