So my card details have been skimmed by some unscrupulous vagabond, who then attempted to buy a couple of iPods, courtesy of the Jenkletts’ pennies. I’ve mentally run through what I can remember of the last couple of months’ worth of transactions... Is the flirty barman who took my lunch order to blame? The grumpy woman in the toy shop? The guy in the petrol station who turned his back for just a little bit too long? (My money’s on him).
The iPod purchases had been flagged as potentially fraudulent, thank goodness, and the bank put a stop on my card. I was in a bit of a panic as I was also prevented from accessing my online banking details and so had no way of knowing if other purchases had been made in my name. Whilst on the phone to the bank, I had to go through the normal security procedure, which involved me confirming the details of a couple of recent purchases. The conversation went like this:
Fraud Prevention Man (FPM): So, I can see a purchase here for £15.82 made at, uh, where do you buy your pet supplies from?
Me: Pets at Home.
FPM: That’s right. And another one here for a payment made to... randombabyslings.com. Any idea how much this was for?
Me: For thirty pounds?
FPM: Yes, that’s great. Now one final question before we’re through clearance. How much do you donate to the NSPCC?
Me: [over baby Jenklett's incessant squeaking] Pardon?
FPM: The NSPCC. The children's charity. How much do you donate?
Me: The NSPCC? Nothing! There is no way ON THIS EARTH I would donate to such an... awful organisation. [pitch rises.] I can’t believe it. How much did they spend? How much? [turning to G, now aghast] They’ve gone and spent my money on the NSPCC! Of all the things they could have picked... [chooses this moment to break and burst into tears.]
TSM: Riiiiiiiight. Okaaaaaay. I understand that you're upset, I think... Well, I’ll just flag this up, Mrs – err, Miss – please hold...
Oh dear.
It turns out that card skimmers often make small and seemingly innocuous payments (in this case, just £2.50) with recently stolen card details to check that they still work, so that they can then progress onto purchasing bigger items (like iPods). Note to fraudsters: Please can you pick a real charity, and not a fake one next time you steal my details?
Less frivolous NSPCC thoughts tomorrow - their recent statement that more children should be taken into care, and, of course, their review response. Having scanned through their response last night, the words that immediately spring to mind are: skirting, contradictory, revenue and generating, and unsurprising.
