Useful Info on ATMs

Useful Info on ATMs

ATMs are a boon. 99% of the time.

The other 1%, we end up facing one or more of the following problems:

• You have adequate balance in the bank, but you don't get cash
• Your account is debited, but you don't get cash
• Your ATM Card is "Swallowed" by the ATM

Here's an interesting article that I came across on the subject:

• Trouble-shooting with a problematic ATM

However, a couple of things that appear to have been missed out in the above referred article are:

• Do not take the help of strangers / security personnel - especially if they come voluntarily to help you. They could very well be part of a gang of scamsters
• In case the ATM is part of a bank branch (as against a stand-alone ATM) make it a point to personally inform the officials of the branch - in writing - about your problem (and, if possible, take an acknowledgement). If it is a stand-alone ATM or if the branch is closed, take the trouble of writing a note specifying the exact nature of the problem faced by you (along with your phone number) and put it in the drop box at the ATM. It could possibly help in the ATM care-takers to identify the affected person quickly, and, to that extent, minimise any negative consequence.

Regards,

N

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Tips to Be Debt Free

Tips to Be Debt Free

Author of this guest post: Ryan Smith, a writer associated with Debt Consolidation Care Community (debtconsolidationcare.com). He has written several articles for various financial websites. He is considered to be an expert in the Debt industry and has made significant contribution through his various articles. The article has been edited for brevity, language and relevance for the Indian audience by Mr. N.

In today's fast paced life everyone is running after money. Being financially strong is the ultimate aim of all of us. However many of us face a financial crisis for at various times. And seek the help of a loan to tide over the crisis. The real problem arises when they are unable to pay their debts in time. And the dream to become debt free starts - whether from the clutches of the moneylender or the "friendly" banker. Primary reason for getting stuck: imbalance in income and expenses. Now the question arises - How can I become debt free again? Some tips: 1. Keep a balanced monthly budget: Often, we don't realize the serious consequences of not clearing their debts within time. And continue to "spend-as-usual" with our typical monthly expenses. As a result we miss deadlines for repayment. Keeping a balanced monthly budget is vital to pay off debts in time. During indebtedness one should avoid making unnecessary expenses. And continue with the newly acquired good habit even after becoming debt-free. 2. Take help from debt negotiation services: Nowadays, debt negotiation services have become very popular, due to their value addition in the best possible debt negotiations. Help can be taken from such service providers to become debt free. These companies negotiate with banks and money lenders of the client and persuade them to reduce rates of interest on a loan, restructure the debt repayment period, etc. Debt negotiation companies are held in high esteem in the United States and many European countries, and are increasingly becoming popular even in Asian nations, including India. 3. Save & invest wisely: A rupee saved is a rupee earned. Saved pennies act as a shield against getting caught in debts. The money thus saved - after meeting your routine budget of monthly expenses ought to be invested wisely. Depending on factors such as age, risk profile, etc., you should invest such savings in an appropriate option such as fixed deposits, mutual funds and shares. Obviously, before choosing the option, one should understand the risk and reward of the chosen mode of investment clearly. Summary: Spending and saving money wisely enables a person to become and remain debt free. Any loans should be for a genuine purpose and an acute financial crisis. Taking loans for unnecessary or trivial expenses is like inviting unwanted tension into one's life.

Additional thoughts of Mr. N:

• Understand the difference between good debt and bad debt. A loan taken that generates "net income" or creates an "Asset" that eventually will either generate income or save expenses is a "Good Loan". Anything else is a "Bad Loan"
• Maintain accounts. If you don't, it makes no sense whether or not you have a budget. After all, you can't monitor the budget without accounts.
• As the saying goes, "When you are stuck in a hole, stop digging" - Make sure that you don't go even deeper into debt.
• Beware of credit cards. They can be knives in the hands of a surgeon or in the hands of a murderer.

Regards,

N

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The big bad credit card companies

The big bad credit card companies

When I find an otherwise excellently written write-up, being a notoriously lazy guy, I am always delighted to send you to the original article by giving the relevant link.

Here's one such piece from Deepak Shenoy's blog, talking about why one should not go in for an "Auto debit" option for paying off credit card bills - Read on:

• A fool & his money are quickly parted - especially by credit card companies!

A quick point - I'll go to the extent of ensuring that if I have a card from XYZ bank, I'll try to ensure that I don't use a cheque leaf from XYZ bank to pay their bill. Why should we let them know proactively the existence of a banking relationship with them that extends beyond credit cards - One never knows what well-hidden term / condition they may use to gain access to your SB account for adjusting some disputed bill / service charge on the credit card?!!??!

Some readers have asked me as to why I offer these links to other blogs and websites.

Some quick reasons:

• My blog is not an exercise to build my ego and certainly not a tool to gather any income.
• I have no qualms about giving credit where it is due, by taking you to the original author's blog / website directly. This also takes care of potential "copyright" issues.
• If you're able to move to another blog and, in the process, gain more valuable inputs, I feel that the purpose of this blog is, to that extent, quite well-served. Enjoy!

Regards,

N

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An Interesting Fact after the sharp move of September 13th

An Interesting Fact after the sharp move of September 13th

On Sept 13, we saw the markets zooming ahead. And I got a mail highlighting the limited number of scrips that outperformed the index on this very day.

What are the implications?

Are we seeing the typical blow-out phase of any bull market?

The real answer - I don't know. The bitter truth - No other persons knows, either.

Hence, what should we be doing at this stage?

My own recommendation from Nifty levels of around 5500 would be as under:

• For every 5-7% increase in Nifty, keep lightening up your stock portfolio by around 12-15%, in all the stocks which have run up significantly in the past 3 months, thus increasing your cash levels
• If you have the capacity to be patient, and if you don't mind seeing all your friends, colleagues, etc. making more profits than you in the very short term, sit tight on cash
• If you are the type of individual who must compulsorily remain invested in shares and don't believe in holding cash, at least try to buy in a staggered manner
• Also, in these highly risky global environs, if you insist on buying shares at current levels of Nifty,
• Try not to buy shares which have run up very significantly in the past 3-4 months (After all, I'm recommending that you keep selling such stocks!)
• Instead, try to buy those fundamentally sound stocks which have not run up already - like Reliance Industries, NTPC, Real Estate stocks, Specific Agri-product stocks, Specific cement stocks, etc. Ideally, stick to large-cap stocks at this moment - AND BE PREPARED TO HOLD FOR A LONG PERIOD!
• Make sure that unless you are a past master, don't play with futures & options at this stage
• As always, keep your stock exposure in line with your risk profile and asset allocation norms.

Most importantly, don't ever rely on experts, self-proclaimed experts, including me. Rely on your own individual research - At the end of the day, it is your money - You certainly don't wish to convert it into someone else's money!

An Interesting Fact after the sharp move of September 13th

Posted by: "GV" 

Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:42 pm (PDT)

Yesterday when nifty broke out sharply by about 2.13 % ;

- there were only 26 stocks among nifty category which outperformed the
index and 76 that under performed.

- and among a-z category, there were just 216 stocks that out performed and
as many as 1101 stocks which under performed.

*gv*

Regards,

N

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Why we ought to depend on our own research

Why we ought to depend on our own research

Just came across an article in an old Business Line giving some info about the limited number of people who virtually control our markets in India:

• http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/08/16/stories/2010081650980400.htm

Apparently,

• As many as 451 client identities accounted for about 50 per cent of the average daily turnover in the cash equity segment of the National Stock Exchange in the first quarter this fiscal. This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to question posed by Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in the Rajya Sabha.
• The number is even more intriguing in the derivatives segment, with only 106 clients accounting for 50 per cent of the average daily turnover.

What are the implications for lesser mortals like you and me who invest in shares? Here are some of my thoughts:

• First, these few persons, through their sheer weight, can take a share up or down by a significant percentage in a short span of time
• Secondly, they don't give advance notice to you and me about their planned course of action
• Therefore, we ought to be aware about the fact that a sudden spurt or tanking of an index or, more likely, a specific share can very well be exclusively due to market actions by these limited number of persons.
• Accordingly, before we decide to buy or sell a share, we must do our own research rather than depending on:
• Research recommendations
• Tips
• Rumours
• Sudden and / or violent movement in prices
• Most importantly, retail investors must very clearly understand the risk involved in investing in equity and take care of themselves by:
• doing meticulous research PERSONALLY before making investment decisions
• knowing our own risk appetite
• adhering to our asset allocation strategies meticuously
• limiting leverage to the extent to which we are ready to lose 100% of the capital that is deployed in derivative and / margin products
• having a long term orientation while investing in shares
• using very strict stop losses in accordance with our actual risk appetite
• being willing to book profits the moment our targets are reached
• irrespective of the time horizon
• and whether or not the stock continues to move further in the predicted direction
• not being too greedy - If you are getting anything more than twice the return on safe bank deposits, it is either too risky or you've just been lucky. 

Take care and happy investing!

Regards,

N

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Bad Credit Card Customer!

Don't know whether I've posted this pic before, but it is worth repeating once every few weeks for the benefit of all our readers!

Do take the hint, of course!

Regards,

N

Investors Beware - Chinese Real Estate Bubble is coming next!

Investors Beware - Chinese Real Estate Bubble is coming next!

Or, effectively, so says this article:

• Chinese Real Estate Bubble is due to burst any time now!

I'm reminded of the story of the boy who cried wolf. And of the Great Depression of 1929-33.

And of the Tulip Mania that preceded it several decades earlier.

And the dot com bust that came along a decade back. And the sub-prime crisis.

After every bubble, a few interesting things happen:

• Every economist, every "expert" and every central bank governor claims that he / she had predicted the bubble a couple of years earlier. And, in all probability 99% of them are lying
• People start seeing bubbles everywhere around them
• Experts predict the next 237 bubbles out of the next 2 bubbles with absolute certainty and total accuracy, especially within the next couple of years.
• And, the general public does not know which ones among the 237 referred to above are the 2 real bubbles!

The only thing that I can say with certainty is that all these predictions make interesting reading!!

Regards,

N

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Listen to the "Shoe-shine boys"

Listen to the "Shoe-shine boys"

(to know when the market reaches the top!)

Here's an anecdoctal piece from the famous Bernard Baruch.

No, markets reach their top when "shoe-shine boys start asking for stock tips" - Bernard Baruch

There's this famous story about how the US markets had soared very high-up when Baruch had gone for a shoe-shine. The shoe-shiner upon learning that Baruch was an investor, asked him questions about the markets with unbridled enthusiasm. Baruch got a very uncomfortable feeling over this enthusiasm, that was indicative of a mass-hysteria (which I am sure he had discerned in other places as well), so later during the day he exited all his positions.

The next day the market crashed !!!

I had a personal encounter with the "Baruch Indicator" shortly before the Jan 2008 crash, when waiters at this restaurant I used to frequent, came up to me and started asking for stock tips and what mutual funds they could invest in. They knew for a long time that I played the markets because usually I'd go to the restaurant with a copy of the DSJ magazine or some trading-related books. But that was the very first time when a large group of them cornered me for advice !

Well in a few days time the market tanked !!!

The Baruch Indicator is timeless I think - you can't go wrong with it   :)

Everybody and his brother is sounding cautious about "overheating markets around the world" and an impending correction.

• There's talk of the European crisis - Am not mentioning any individual nation, because a different nation grabs the attention every other day.
• Folks are worried about the recurring danger of deflation in US.
• And the China scare
• And the wars of Gulf, Kashmir, South China sea, etc.
• And the potential spike in Oil

As long as enough people are freaking out buying puts, writing calls, shorting high beta stocks, etc., we can have a reasonable degree of confidence about not being at a new peak.

Enjoy the run while it lasts.

But buy puts to hedge yourself. And keep booking profits whenever you can, as regularly as you can.

Irrespective of what experts, self-proclaimed experts, business journalists, blog writers, etc. tell you.

Regards,

N

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Beware of Conmen contd. ... ... ...

Beware of Conmen contd. ... ... ...

Don't reveal your passwords, pin numbers without due care!

This one is a response that I got from a friend presently working with a premier private sector bank.

And, the incident ACTUALLY happened.

A True Story:

This lady has changed her habit of handling mobile phone after her handbag was stolen.

Her handbag which contained her mobile, credit card, wallet etc. was stolen.

Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, telling him what had happened, her hubby says 'I've just received your SMS asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.

The pickpocket had actually used the stolen mobile phone to SMS 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from the bank account.

Moral of the story:

Do not disclose the relationship between you and the person in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mum etc......

And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through SMS, CONFIRM by calling back.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS

I guess this is also an excellent example for understanding the ill effects of sharing passwords/pin numbers.

If we're not careful, obviously, we'll be left to grieve sooner than later.

As I love to repeat,

A fool and his money are quickly parted - Indeed!

Regards,

N

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Beware of conmen

I received a comment on one of my posts recently. I was wondering whether to write about it in my financial blog or my humour blog. Finally decided in favour of the financial blog. Reason: The potential pitfalls for people to get conned is so great that the matter is serious enough not to be treated as a mere joke to be laughed off.

First, read this comment on an earlier post:

indian stock market has left a new comment on your post "The American Tragedy / Comedy / Farce":

Dear Visitors,

This blog is really nice and informative. We are pleased to know this blog is really helping people.
Its our pleasure to post informative content on this useful blog created by webmaster.
We provide FREE service of Share Tips in BTST calls (Buy Today Sell Tomorrow).
We also offer Nifty Calls with short term view & Investment Plans with upto 400% Return On Investment.
Our Service is Absolutely FREE to those who open account with Reliance Money through us.
If you already have Reliance Money account, Still You can avail our FREE service. To do so, please Contact Us amarinvestments
Now I just want to tell you more Information in share market ,
who one earn profit in intraday just tell me once .
we gave a btst call in which we are making good profit and before 10 am we quit from market with a good profit .
just tell me once that when market open in green means +100 points , many stocks allready open in 1% to 2% up .
so how can you make profit . and when you enter in these level our smart investor quit the game and our intraday losser are hang in it .
so WHAT TO DO just contact us at www.amarinvestments.com. we will tell you how you can success in it .we will tell you how you can make sure money in Nifty . JUST WALK WITH US JUST TALK WITH US AND EARN LOTS OF MONEY WITH US .
WWW.AMARINVESTMENTS.COM
THERE is a one stock that gives 400% profit in a year .
from 10 years 2000 to 2010 it gives these types of profit .
we make 3 times money in it .
If some body want to check this stock status , just check the performance of this stock before invest ,
no one can make these types of profit through trading .
so just invest and make your money 400% in 1 year .
our services are free of cost .
to do so pls contact us at our site amarinvestments

My own observations:

• First, this guy "amarinvestments" may be the very guru of Warren Buffett, and, may, in fact, multiply your money many times over.
• However, I have my own doubts. On the contrary, it is more likely to be just another sales pitch to sell his / her financial service products like "Wealth Management",  "Broking Research", "PMS", etc.
• The rationale behind my doubt is very simple. If a specific investment idea is going to generate 400% money in a single year, why would I be trying to go around, read other peoples' blogs, write comments on their posts, offer my services to make money for others, etc.??? Much rather, I'll simply sell out a good chunk of all my other investments and put all my disposable surplus money in this "Silver Bullet" "investment" - And retire rich.

While the world wide web is a rich source of often valuable information, it is also full of potential pitfalls like these. And, apparently, our regulatory framework is hardly robust enough to "take care" of such misinformation campaigns. The worst part is that this one is merely a comment on a blog. If any of you is going to contact "amarinvestments" or any such person, they'll have the ready excuse that "you came in search of their services" and subsequent losses, if any, is at your own risk.

And, of course, they are right about that part of it.

Moral of the story:

• Beware of conmen!

Regards,

N

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Beware of conmen

On Market Bubbles

On Market Bubbles

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe ---

Albert Einstein

How true, indeed!

Regards,

N

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Over-optimistic Equity Analysts

Over-optimistic Equity Analysts

Those of us who thought that only our Indian analysts are over-optimistic should read this one:

• Over-optimistic Equity Analysts

My hypothesis on the possible reason: They often represent fund managers, mutual fund houses, insurance companies, etc., all of whom have a stake in investors pouring in more money into their coffers - And when will they do so? When the prospective investors hope that the markets will go up!

And we thought that these analysts are supposedly unbiased and professional!

Regards,

N

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Triggering the Stop Loss!!!

Triggering the Stop Loss!!!

There are times when a "copy and paste" job provides just the right material for an interesting post.

Here's one such case, from a mail that I received from a Yahoo group of which I'm a member.

Apparently, it is a mail that has been forwarded enough number of times for us to be unsure of the original source.

Read on:

........... ............ .............. .......... .................

A wonderful explanation when to trigger the stop loss. This is taken from a mail forwarded to me by my friend in a broking house. If posted in past, please pardon me for re-posting.

Amit Shah I recently went to Hoshiarpur in Punjab (my in-laws).

A beautiful sleepy countryside paradise called Bachchauri.

In front of my in-laws house there is the house of a rich, educated and witty farmer who is very fond of discussing stock market with me whenever I go there.

This time we were discussing "stop loss".

We were standing near a neat and clean shed of 12 Buffaloes, all gleaming black like Cadillacs in a showroom!

All of these buffaloes had sharp horns!

Fortunately they were tied to pillars with ropes around 2-3 meters long!

"What would be the stop loss for you while in front of a Buffalo?" my farmer buddy asked me, tongue in cheek!

I looked in his eyes. "what kind of question is this?" I asked with a smile.

"Come on, tell me!" he insisted.

"First tell me, what can act as a stop loss for a charging buffalo?" I asked.

"when I shout the buffalo's name to her she dare not move an inch thereafter" declared my friend. "Now, tell me, what would be the stop loss for you while in front of a Buffalo?"

"Ok, in that case, I can take this hypothetical case" I retorted. "Look, my stop loss will be placed at a distance of X meters from the pillar from which the buffalo is tied up"

"What will be that distance?" he again quipped.

"It will be the length of buffalo + the length of the rope in her neck + length of her horns" I replied.

"what if the rope breaks?" he challenged!

I was not expecting this!

"What do you mean 'the rope breaks'" I asked.

"I mean where will you place the stop loss if the rope breaks?" he asked again. "Will you wait to trigger the stop loss expecting the buffalo to behave logically or will you trigger the stop loss?"

Both of us laughed our heart out!

He had conveyed the message he wanted to.

"When you don't know what is happening and the things have crossed your expectation limit, trigger the stop loss, for heavens sake!!!"

Regards,

N

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Reason for Complexity

Reason for Complexity

I read this in a very long article. This portion is worth sharing:

Finance has transformed the art of the simple into the perplexing into an industry. Nowhere (at least outside of acadmia) is overly complex structure and elegant (though not robust) mathematics so beloved.

The reason for such obsession with needless complexity is clear: It is far easier to charge higher fees for things that sound complex.

Obviously, no comments are warranted!

Regards,

N

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What desperate brokers do!

What desperate brokers do!

I can't claim that I enjoy plagiarism - or plain copying. However, when it comes to education and with proper referencing, I guess that it becomes slightly more acceptable.

One of my favourite financial blogs is ValueStockPlus.net - I do keep visiting it quite often, and might have even quoted some of its contents in the past. However, this one is a gem worth reading from the original blog directly. Read on!

• A Great post from a favourite blog of mine - Value-Stock-Plus

The above post is a short one. The only point about which I can possibly crib is whether it is indeed a joke - It appears to happen all the time in real life if only one watches the Business TV channels or reads business newspapers and magazines!

Regards,

N

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Of Pins & Bubbles

Of Pins & Bubbles

A pin lies in wait for every bubble and when the two eventually meet, a new wave of investors learns some very old lessons. - Warren Buffett

Considering the credentials of the Guru from Omaha, I can't take the chance of disagreeing with the sage all the time.

As enough number of investment gurus have pointed out, bubbles will keep getting formed as long as naive investors are floating around on this planet.

As long as bubbles are in existence, pins will keep searching for them.

On every such occasion when the two meet (I mean the pin and the bubble), inevitably the bubble will burst.

The whole process goes on somewhat along the lines suggested below:

1. The smart investors would have got in there first, ahead of the rest
2. The naive ones would have kept observing the bubble, denying its ever-expanding nature and refrained from getting in
3. Unfortunately, just a few hours / days / weeks before the pin meets the bubble, our naive friends will go right ahead and invest in the bubble, convincing themselves that the bubble "Is different" this time around!
4. And, pray, whom did these naive investors buy the bubble components from?
5. Of course, from the Smart Investors referred to in (1) above!
6. And, the Pin meets the Bubble

Moral of the story:

• We can't do much about bubbles
• We just need to learn our lessons from pins meeting bubbles
• And aspire to become "smart investors" well in time to greet the next bubble.
• And be smart enough AND fearful enough to get the hell out before the next pin meets the next bubble!

Happy investing!

Regards,

N

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Beware of Credit Card Fraudsters

Beware of Credit Card Fraudsters

Credit for this post goes to NM, an uncle of mine, who forwarded this mail to me!

There are problems enough due to credit cards - Debt traps, et al. More about them in some other post of mine.

Unfortunately, there are problems due to credit cards that ought not to occur even for spend-thrift credit-card holders. Here's a mail that talks about highlighting a few of such problems and taking care of the same.

Be sure to read Scene 3.  Quite interesting. This is a new one. People sure stay busy  trying to cheat us, don't they?

Take care!

Regards,

N

SCENE 1. 

 

A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in the locker. 

After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, 'Funny, I thought I locked the locker.

 

Hmm, 'He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order. 

 

Everything looked okay - all cards were in place.. 

 

A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of $14,000! 

 

He called the credit card company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not  make the

transactions. 

 

Customer care personnel verified that there was no Mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen..  

 

'No,' he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep - you guessed it - a

switch had been made.

 

An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. 

 

The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards. 

 

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would

have to pay the amount owed to them. 

 

How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy? 

 

$9,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a 'warning bell' with some credit card companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one! 

============ ========= =======

 

SCENE 2. 

 

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card. 

 

The bill for the meal came, he signed it and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card

along.   

 

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person. 

 

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed. 

 

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the

man. 

 

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. 

 

No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.. 

 

Verdict: 

 

Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours. 

 

Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away

for even a short period of time.  

 

Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, 'assuming' that it has to be theirs. 

 

 

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION! 

============ ========= ======== 

 

SCENE 3: 

 

Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that I had called in. 

 

I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my checking account.   

 

The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as he waited

for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.   

 

While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialling. 

 

I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. ?

 

Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture 

 

He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons. 

 

Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going

on. 

 

It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I'm paying close attention to what he is doing. 

 

He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. 

 

About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved. 

 

Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my credit

card. 

 

Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what happened. 

 

Needless to say, I immediately cancelled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlour. 

 

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times. 

 

Whenever you are using your credit card take caution and don't be careless. 

 

 Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card. 

 

Be aware of phones, because many have a camera phone these days.

 

 

JUST BE AWARE 

 

Never let your card out of your sight.....check and check again! 

 

Scary, isn't it....

Regards,

N

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