The Real Tea

In my last blog, I mentioned traveling on a business trip for work. I learned about traveling with co-workers, but I have recently learned an even more important lesson – not to use your debit cards ANYWHERE other than YOUR bank and that may not be safe either.

Let me explain! When I arrived to work on Monday, I had an email from my corporate credit card account provider informing me of possible fraudulent charges. It only showed one charge which immediately, I knew it wasn’t mine. Hurrying, I went online to view my recent activity. Starting on Saturday, there were two charges to two different hotels, two charges to two different Winn-Dixie’s and two charges to two different Publix’s in various areas of Florida. Why two charges and two different locations, I have no clue. The charges totaled to over $2000. I thought to myself, if I had used my personal debit card that would have been horrific. I called the credit card company and went through the proper channels to be directed to the fraud department. I spoke with a representative who was very helpful and reassuring even though I thought I would be given the third degree about where I was and did I use the card! I have been reading lately that identify theft is on the rise so I prayed that maybe she had all the proof she needed. The representative verified my address and issued me another card. Thank GOD it was that simple! I checked my account today and the charges are still there, so I don’t know how long it will take for the charges to be credited. It’s really sad that some people’s job occupation is to steal credit cards or people’s personal information to sell for money. The representative stated that the card was copied by someone that had physical access to the card. They knew this because some of the information held by the counterfeiters was only available on the card itself.  This is apparently known as skimming and is a major problem with credit cards right now.  The cards are usually swiped by a clerk at a restaurant, gas station, and etc, when you give them the card to pay your bill. Now keep in mind, I used the card at several restaurants, hotel, and airport while on my business trip in North Carolina. I notified my other two co-workers who went on the trip with me of the compromising of my card and found out my supervisor’s personal credit card had been compromised also. We immediately realized it had to be at one of the restaurants we ate at because he didn’t use his corporate card for food. He only uses his corporate card for hotel, flight, and car rental transactions. He had bogus charges to show up in various parts of the world (two different countries simultaneously) along with some attempts to change the pin number on the card. I guess to take money off the card.

Be aware of the many types of thefts and watch how you handle your cards when paying bills. I will no longer use my debit card for those transactions. It would have been a totally different story if it was my debit card because it’s linked directly to my checking account. Even though that money would be returned, who knows how long it would take. If you are like me, I use my checking account to pay my bills. That type of money being removed at one time could have caused checks to bounce and numerous overage charges depending on the amount of checks or automatic payments pending. Get in the know and use precaution when using your debit or credit cards.

Have you ever wondered why people take advantage of other people’s things? Well… I traveled out- of-town, about a month ago, on a job related trip.  Now, I truly enjoyed myself but as the story goes – history repeats itself and it most certainly did for me. It’s always something or someone with or without intentions that can irritate the heck out of you!

The purpose of my trip was to visit the actual job site of a project that I’m currently working on. I planned to get as much information as possible to help me with future projects as well as see the work I would actually be executing. It was so fulfilling to be able to visualize what I put on paper to send to a job site and see the manifestation of my works in person. OK so much for the bragging!

Now to the real tea – I’m not a selfish person, but I like what I like and some things are off limit to others. Over that week, I learned that traveling with co-workers can be just as bad as traveling with a two year old. Some people can’t seem to keep their hands off other people’s things! My property is mine and this may sound simple but there are some things I just do not want to share! On my trip, the irritation began with this particular co-worker messing with my RED pen. I did not want to say anything – but if looks could kill – he would be dead today! You maybe thinking it’s only a pen, but it’s MY pen. I needed my pen to mark up my drawings and I only had one. Also he puts his pens in his mouth. NASTY………… I only took a few items out of town with me so I really needed my pen. It took all that I had and some, not to hold a grudge and keep sane – every time he picked up something of mine. It went from my pen, to my drawings, to my camera, to my highlighter. The worst part is I start looking for what’s missing and he knows what I’m looking for and he doesn’t admit he has it until I ask him directly. Do you not know when you put something in your bag that doesn’t belong to you? Did he not know that he needed these same items for the field trip? I kept reminding myself that if he would JUST ASK, I might feel somewhat better about the situation. Not to mention it continued even when we returned to the office. To avoid an uproar in our office, I politely sent him an email informing him of my frustration. He quickly emailed me back apologizing and promising never to do it again. I guess some people don’t know they have problems until they are confronted with them. With all that said and done – the moral of the story is… don’t take for granted that people do not mine you messing with their stuff. It could be the simplest thing, like a pen that could annoy a person and ruin a good relationship! Just ask and you may save yourself and someone else from being irritated and bothered by your actions.