This week we are discussing privacy issues in my Web 2.0 class. The class discussion led to the topic of Credit Card Theft. I find it a very interesting topic because my family just had an issue with our credit card’s safety measures.

My family switched to a new credit card a few months ago. The first time we went to Woodberry Commons (which we do rarely) with our new credit card, we got a phone call the next day from the credit card company to validate that we had made the purchases. We really appreciated that. A while later we made a large purchase out of state, and two days later we received a phone call to ensure that we had made that purchase. That was all well and good, but they did not only ask about the large purchase, they also wanted to check all of our purchases made that week. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t remember exactly what I buy with my credit card from week to week. Not only that, but we have three copies of the credit card, for three separate people, and we don’t always go shopping together. So when the credit card people asked if we had spent $4.39 at Target, my Dad did not know that I had gone to Target, and could not answer. When they asked if we had spent $12.95 at an internet site which my Mom had and my Dad was not aware of, he could not answer. When he told them that he didn’t know if someone in the family had spent those amounts in those places, they froze our account. While we appreciate that they were looking out for us, we were quite annoyed when we went shopping the next day, and our credit card was denied. A quick phone call to the credit card, a few questions to my Mom and me, and my Dad was able to tell them that we did make the two purchases. They unfroze our credit card right away, but the experience was still unpleasant.

So what do you do? On the one hand, you want someone to make sure that no one stole your credit card and is making purchases with it, but how annoying is it to have to remember each and every purchase you make?!