Hurricanes Lounge XXXI: The Self Quarantined Edition

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Nothing like waking up to a call from your credit card company asking if you are shopping around NYC today.

Damn. Ranger's fans are getting really aggressive this year.

 

[MinJaBen]

Nothing like waking up to a call from your credit card company asking if you are shopping around NYC today.

Damn. Ranger's fans are getting really aggressive this year.

That was me. I ordered a cough-hit on the Rangers' goalies. Hopefully you accept the charges....

 

[Unsustainable]

Damn. Ranger's fans are getting really aggressive this year.

they spent 1k. Hopefully they get caught

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

they spent 1k. Hopefully they get caught

last time it happened to me, it was also in NY. They spent $40 at Target in NY at the exact same time as my wife spent $40 at Target down here. 5 minutes later, as we went to HT, the card was shut off by the CC company and they got away with only $40. They tried a second time for $45 at Staples in NY but it was rejected. The guy from the CC company said a lot of them keep purchases below $50 because they don't set off triggers (probably a different amount for every company). I was impressed they caught it after 1 purchase.

 

[Unsustainable]

last time it happened to me, it was also in NY. They spent $40 at Target in NY at the exact same time as my wife spent $40 at Target down here. 5 minutes later, as we went to HT, the card was shut off by the CC company and they got away with only $40. They tried a second time for $45 at Staples in NY but it was rejected. The guy from the CC company said a lot of them keep purchases below $50 because they don't set off triggers (probably a different amount for every company). I was impressed they caught it after 1 purchase.

They denied it after a 7 dollar charge for food or something. They flagged it to me with the Speck order asking if I had purchased it.

 

[SvechneJerk]

I traveled to Houston for a job a few years ago. Literally was in Houston for about 24 hours, eating out once.

The following year, someone tried using my CC # at a Wal-Mart (*EDIT) in Houston. Capital One immediately notified me to see if it was me. Obviously, it wasn't. Capital One
put the funds back without hesitation.

 

[Unsustainable]

I traveled to Houston for a job a few years ago. Literally was in Houston for about 24 hours, eating out once.

The following year, someone tried using my CC # at a Wal-Mart. Capital One immediately notified me to see if it was me. Obviously, it wasn't. Capital One
put the funds back without hesitation.

that’s whose handling it for me

they caught it quick.

 

[DaveG]

last time it happened to me, it was also in NY. They spent $40 at Target in NY at the exact same time as my wife spent $40 at Target down here. 5 minutes later, as we went to HT, the card was shut off by the CC company and they got away with only $40. They tried a second time for $45 at Staples in NY but it was rejected. The guy from the CC company said a lot of them keep purchases below $50 because they don't set off triggers (probably a different amount for every company). I was impressed they caught it after 1 purchase.

That's what happened when my card got hit by a skimmer last summer. A series of purchases in the Charlotte area from places like Five Guys eventually got their attention before anything major charge wise could happen.

Anywhere that doesn't have a chip reader has me immediately suspect now. Even better if it takes just tapping the chip as about half of everywhere now does.

 

[SvechneJerk]

If anyone isn't using it, Lifelock does a great job. It's one of those things that you hope you never need, but when you do, you'll be WAY thankful you got it.
We've had it for a couple years & it's kept us abreast of a lot of breaches before they even hit the news.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

If anyone isn't using it, Lifelock does a great job. It's one of those things that you hope you never need, but when you do, you'll be WAY thankful you got it.
We've had it for a couple years & it's kept us abreast of a lot of breaches before they even hit the news.

Have you ever needed it? If so, was it for identity theft? What did the service provide? Just curious as I haven’t looked into it. I got a couple of free years of various services for some breaches that occurred over the years, but thankfully, they never identified any issues, other than an old email address being found on some websites they said were not reputable.

 

[Socks]

taco bell is garbage food you eat for fourth meal and at no other times

specifically the cheesy gordita crunch, crunchwrap supreme, or chalupas

Word. If it’s not 2am and you’re not under the influence of something Taco Bell is disappointing.

 

[SvechneJerk]

Have you ever needed it? If so, was it for identity theft? What did the service provide? Just curious as I haven’t looked into it. I got a couple of free years of various services for some breaches that occurred over the years, but thankfully, they never identified any issues, other than an old email address being found on some websites they said were not reputable.

Thankfully, we haven't had a NEED, up to this point. The initial internet scan they do upon setup, takes a bit & they show you where your info has been passed around. They have different levels of coverage.

LifeLock Official Site | Identity Theft Protection

EDIT - And don't bother with getting the Norton security - there are better options. Namely ESET. They are THE BEST. We've used them for about 11 years.

 

[HisIceness]

they spent 1k. Hopefully they get caught

I've had this happen to me as well, more than once unfortunately but I got every cent back. The first time I was victim of a "skimmer" in an ATM machine I was using. The skimmer was traced back to Los Angeles where someone was using my card to make purchases in the amount of $79 over and over again.

Still looking for that person and also looking for the asshole who used my info to buy Amazon gift cards. Should be noted, everyone should check their statements after every purchase.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I since have had my credit card set to notify me via text if:

a) any purchase is made with the card not present, no matter the amount
b) any purchase is made over a certain amount.

Not foolproof, and this is on top of what cc companies do for fraud protection.

I wish Credit Cards would require a pin, or 2 factor authentication to make a purchase. I suspect the investment in technology isn’t worth it vs. how much loss they accrue via theft?

 

[Negan4Coach]

I since have had my credit card set to notify me via text if:

a) any purchase is made with the card not present, no matter the amount
b) any purchase is made over a certain amount.

Not foolproof, and this is on top of what cc companies do for fraud protection.

I wish Credit Cards would require a pin, or 2 factor authentication to make a purchase. I suspect the investment in technology isn’t worth it vs. how much loss they accrue via theft?

Easy now. You don't want us to wind up completing a goddamn CAPTCHA at the counter for every transaction, do you?

From my perspective being in the tech now for a while I don't see why adding a pin for each CC transaction would be a heavy lift. I mean we already do it with checking cards from the same banks.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

Most of the times I have taco, it’s at home. So, the only premade stuff is the tortilla.
I am still in the age, where I am capable of eating anything under right circumstances.

Fast foods with heavy focus on Mexican food are scarce outside of Prague.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Easy now. You don't want us to wind up completing a goddamn CAPTCHA at the counter for every transaction, do you?

From my perspective being in the tech now for a while I don't see why adding a pin for each CC transaction would be a heavy lift. I mean we already do it with checking cards from the same banks.

When I used to travel for business, my corporate AMEX card allowed me to set a pin, so the technology is definitely there. Some gas stations make you enter your zip code of the credit card. etc...

 

[MinJaBen]

When I used to travel for business, my corporate AMEX card allowed me to set a pin, so the technology is definitely there. Some gas stations make you enter your zip code of the credit card. etc...

My corporate Visa card does this now and has to be done with every purchase in person. I've never not had it work here in Durham.

 

[WreckingCrew]

When I used to travel for business, my corporate AMEX card allowed me to set a pin, so the technology is definitely there. Some gas stations make you enter your zip code of the credit card. etc...

At least with a CC, most of them anyway, you report bad charges and they just wipe them away. With your debit, it's more of a fight to get that money BACK after it's been removed. I honestly almost wish they would go back to asking to see your ID when you present a credit/debit card.

 

[Negan4Coach]

When I used to travel for business, my corporate AMEX card allowed me to set a pin, so the technology is definitely there. Some gas stations make you enter your zip code of the credit card. etc...

Oh I did't realize you could do that. I'll have to set that up...if we ever actually travel again, lol.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

At least with a CC, most of them anyway, you report bad charges and they just wipe them away. With your debit, it's more of a fight to get that money BACK after it's been removed. I honestly almost wish they would go back to asking to see your ID when you present a credit/debit card.

For me personally, I don't have a need to use a debit card at all. I can see it if a person has a credit card with a low limit that they'd need to though. I almost never use cash anymore and so I strictly use my debit card at ATMs to take out cash, and probably do that only 3-4 times a year? In fact, last time I went to use it, it had been so long I forgot my pin. With paypal, venmo and credit cards, cash really doesn't get used all that much anymore.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Oh I did't realize you could do that. I'll have to set that up...if we ever actually travel again, lol.

Traveling has been so much easier lately. Flights are about half full. You just gotta bring your own drinks and snacks (if you don’t want just water).

no airport lineups either. It’s great.

 

[The Stranger]

it's actually funny (and profoundly sad) that pro sports in america are one of the more socialist things in the country while pro sports in the rest of the world are very capitalistic

america is honked up in so many ways, pro sports is this country is certainly problematic. it probably isn't even in the top 10 of issues that the country

Professional sport leagues in the US do share revenue...and if you are looking at things inside the league, the gains are "socialized". I'm a big fan of this model as opposed to a league with unconstrained finances...say like the EPL (which I still enjoy).

Now, if you look at things from the outside, a sports league is competing with all other forms of entertainment...capital flows to whatever entertainment product is most compelling. From this perspective, the entertainment market is capitalistic.

The socialized league revenue and labor price fixing (salary floor/ceiling) makes the teams compete on strategy, smarts, work-ethic, etc...this, IMO, yields a much more compelling product overall.

All that being said, it's important not to conflate the benefit of the "socialized" sports league model to what applying the same model at a region/nation does.

What is "problematic" about pro sports in the US?

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Professional sport leagues in the US do share revenue...and if you are looking at things inside the league, the gains are "socialized". I'm a big fan of this model as opposed to a league with unconstrained finances...say like the EPL (which I still enjoy).

Now, if you look at things from the outside, a sports league is competing with all other forms of entertainment...capital flows to whatever entertainment product is most compelling. From this perspective, the entertainment market is capitalistic.

The socialized league revenue and labor price fixing (salary floor/ceiling) makes the teams compete on strategy, smarts, work-ethic, etc...this, IMO, yields a much more compelling product overall.

All that being said, it's important not to conflate the benefit of the "socialized" sports league model to what applying the same model at a region/nation does.

What is "problematic" about pro sports in the US?

I would say that the “socialized” version yields more interesting outcomes. Vegas gets to the Cup Finals in their first year. Southern hockey markets (would most likely be lower revenue if left to their own devices) are extremely competitive. Etc etc.

 

[DaveG]

I would say that the “socialized” version yields more interesting outcomes. Vegas gets to the Cup Finals in their first year. Southern hockey markets (would most likely be lower revenue if left to their own devices) are extremely competitive. Etc etc.

I mean all we have to do to see what would happen is look at baseball. Aside from when Billy Beane and the As were literally playing a different game in how they went about player evaluation before the rest of the league caught on, the small team essentially acts as a quad A franchise before they can no longer afford talent, lose them in free agency or trade, rinse and repeat. The small teams will have blips of competence, might even have a shot at a series (Marlins, KC, arguably Arizona) but you'll end up with the big spender teams winning the World Series almost every single time.