Let's Talk For A Couple Minutes About Fraud

Due to the eagle-blue eyes of my Sweetie, we have narrowly avoided disaster - a credit card was cloned, probably at a local unmanned parking lot, used at a Bed Bath and Beyond in farthest Canada, and probably a Tim Horton's, as I am certain our fraudster wanted to 'blend'.

Sweetie approached me with this situation carefully, knowing that her ears would be punished by my roundly damning humanity, my cries to the universe, yea verily, and that the lord is a rotten bastard, and such. She was not disappointed. Starting with parking lots and wending my may towards goddammit moose, I covered most of the bases, with invective classic and newly wrought. She drank coffee and looked for lawnmowers online, cowering at my rage.

Once my grains were spent, I did run my run-on sentences through a sieve, and came up with something really obvious, perhaps I'm the last man on earth to catch this, if so derp.

Most of us have had to use pay-at-the-pump, pre-pay (or even leave your card with the cashier while filling). Used a card at a retailer where they never check your card, or ID, or where they did not even require a signature below a certain amount. Used a card at an unmanned parking lot. All of this is ripe for abuse and fraud. For unmanned card stations, at convenience stores and grocery store express lanes, criminals have little devices they can attach to the card station to clone your number. If you have to leave your card, say at a bar when running a tab, it takes nothing for someone to copy all your info. I spoke with a cashier at a grocery store once and asked why she did not check my ID. She replied they were instructed not to. The store manager came when I asked to discuss this policy, and gave some bullshit answer about how, by checking cards, they assume some liability in case of fraud. 

I ended up being 'asked' to leave, primarily convinced they just wanted to close their eyes to any potential issues.

I was so, so wrong.

What it is, I'm certain, is that merchants love fraud.
LOVE fraud.
With flowers and hot-n-cold running scotch.

A stolen credit card buys and buys and buys, until the electronic system stops it. The thief doesn't buy ramen, screw that, prime rib, baby! Doesn't buy one towel when a bedroom set will do. 

AND THE RETAILER DOESN'T LOSE A CENT.

This is a love made in heaven. Sunzabitches.