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Oh My! How to get a Credit/Debit Card!

Today I got from Which Bank? no less than three letters to my exact address, where I have lived for 16 years, which offered Credit/Debit Cards to people I have never, ever, heard of. And the Plastic Cards were included which simply needed to be validated on-line.

I actually rang "Which Bank" and got a human response within seconds, which was a surprise, and was told that this sort of thing happens all the time and offered the advice to return to sender, or drop them into "Which Bank". I was also told that the checks and balances were such that I could never do any harm to this persons account.

Now were I a smart hacker, I could probably, once these cards were in my hand, get the credit/debit account ready to start using other peoples money for my benefit in 5 minutes! I had the names, location, and quite possibly the complex that they live in, and from on line sources could quite probably have discovered enough information on line to "answer" anything that "which Bank" would have needed to activate the Credit Card accounts. And yes, I do have enough savvy to hide where the sales/purchases would have come from.

I need convincing that the Internet World is a whole lot better than the pre Internet World.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Which bank is which bank?

I know... As would any oz members who have seen the add.

I can't believe they would send stuff like that to your address when no one but yourself has lived there for 16 years... risky! If you had only just moved in it would be more understandable for them to send you someone elses mail.

I've read about frauds involving multiple bank accounts and credit cards before. Someone tech savvy just designs and prints themselves a heap of drivers licenses, birth certificates etc in all different names and addresses and uses them to open new accounts, buy whatever they want, and conduct other illegal activities online.

Although I do honestly believe the internet world is better than the pre internet world.

Norm, looks like your address may be a dead drop for a scammer.

They apply online using your address, the card(s) are then sent out and every day straight after your postie delivers your mail, the scammer checks for cards (not hard to feel for a card even when the cover has no bank details on it).

True story - A friend of ours saw someone looking in her letter box one day but they left before she could get outside. The next day she made sure she was ready to catch them in the act. Right after the postie left , sure enough a woman walked up to the post box and started going through the mail. Our friend ran outside but the woman was too quick for her and ran off. She reported this to the Police but they said it happens all the time

Next day she got a good lock for the post box

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Tony

Yes, I have heard of this also.

But in reality, I hear about, and personally experience, banks stuffing up on a much more regular basis.

Oh, and I received my first ever email offer of $22,000,000 from a bank official in Libya today.

Oh heck ... now I've blown it ... I wasn't supposed to tell anyone.

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A man might as well marry ... if he finds a good wife he will be happy ... if not, he will become a philosopher.
Collecting Greater New Guinea & Macropods (Kangaroos & Wallabies).

PO Boxes are worth the annual fee... I know I don't want random strangers reading my personal mail.

If you ever go away, make sure you have a trusted friend or relative collecting your mail.

The other way is to go to your local Post Shop and get the free "hold mail until......." service. They will allow you to pick up everything on the return date, or simply deliver the lot the next day.

Of course, if you get mail with stamps on it, there will be interesting stickers, often stuck over the stamps to indicate that it has been "held".

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Norm, you have to pay for this "service" like everything with Australia Post now. But as an added advantage they still stick those damn yellow labels on nice covers

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Tony

My neighbours used the mail holding service from AP when they went away a few years ago and it didn't work so well.

All parcels addressed to them continued to arrive and be left at their front door step by delivery driver for the 3 weeks they were away, whilst all standard sized mail did get held for them at the PO.

So we needed to collect and store all their parcels as AP failed to hold the mail... maybe it doesnt include parcels.

Many of the "non-standard" items, particularly in town where the postie has his/her little putt-putt, are sent straight to contractors as a matter of course.

Frustrating I know, but a P.O. Box (even at the $100-odd per year) is undoubtedly the best way to go for those who have concerns.

(Now, if anyone tried it out here where I live...it's a long walk home )

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FORESTS OLD, PASTURES NEW
(An expert is one who knows more and more, about less and less)