OT: Did My Good Deed of the Day!

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Thomas Rogers

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I was walking through the crowded mall on my lunch break, hitting the food court after just getting some last minute gifts, when I heard a BEEP, BEEP as walking by an ATM machine next to the eateries.



Sure enough, someone left their card in and it was awaiting the NEXT transaction button. I stepped up, caustiously looked around for a few seconds to see if someone simply stepped aside for a moment, but no one was nearby. So, I cancelled the session, the card popped out, and I grabbed it. I waited for a couple of minutes to see if anyone "anxious" looking returned, and one guy actually did. He said he just left his card there, so I asked his name, but it didn't match the on the card which I never offered to him (odd coincidence?, scam?, you be the judge).



I then took the card to the mall guest services kiosk. The same guy that lost his card was there reporting his card missing. I handed the card to a rep who said "it happens all the time". You would have thought they would announce the person's name over the PA system and ask them to come to the guest services desk, but that's not their "policy". I guess their silence policy is better, as it allows the person who lost the card to figure it out for themselves maybe hours or days later when they can't as easily remember where or when they last used it or easly get back to the mall even if they could (sarcasm).



Anyway, I thought how a less honest person could have taken out a lot of cash, and hoped that if I ever lost my card in that way that an honest person would find it.



Happy Holidays and be careful with the credit and ATM cards during the rush of this season.



TJR
 
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I have used a money machine one time in my life......over 20 years ago. I screwed up and the machine kept my card. It was such a pain in the A$$ that I swore I would never use one again, and I haven't.

Cash is king.....credit card is second best.



There should be a high school class taught on handling money, credit cards, mortgages, and financial issues and it should be mandatory. This country is dying a slow death by credit.



 
I respect you for doing what you did TJR. If it was the type of atm where is sucks your card in, after a few seconds, it should have sucked the card back in for safe keeping.....weird.



obviously if it was a swipe machine the user would have had the card in their hands after....
 
20 years ago? You sure their wasn't a little person inside working the machines back then? Maybe he was on a sleep break!:lol:



TJR good for you! Gives you a good feeling huh?!:D
 
Nice,

I would have done the same thing, But my sarcastic butt would have asked for a thank you.... LOL



Todd Z
 
Were they those cards made of stone that you stuck in a birds mouth and then smashed the bird on top of the head to get the card punched? Oh wait, nevermind, that was on the Flintstones.



1982 Grad. ;)
 
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Good work TJR. I did a similar thing but a guy said it was his card...LOL I said hmmm you don't look like a Wilma to me. The turned around and said hey that is my card...LOL.



I bank with US Bank and I did the same thing with my PayPal Debit Card. However, the branch manager wouldn't give me the card back after the machine ate it. Apparently, if you leave it in there and don't take it after a certain frame the machine will take it. The branch manager said I had to call PayPal and have them cancel it. I thought that was BS as I told her so and said you guys treat your 20+ year customers real well. Even PayPal said they have no right to keep it when you show proof of who you are.
 
I did that once. The ATM after 20-30 seconds keeps the card and cancels the transaction as I found out.
 
Good job. A few weeks ago I found a kids paycheck in the road. I went to his address and said are you looking for this? He couldn't beleive I would return it. I said it's of no use to me, I can't cash it.
 
I left my card in the ATM machine on base in Korea once. I had to order a new one from my stateside bank. Even though they FEDEXed it, it took a week to get a new one. In the meantime, I couldn't do much, since I conduct nearly all my business online (bill pay, purchasing, etc.)
 
buzzworth

- you're absolutely right! We teach kids about ancient Egypt, the biology of a plant, and how to drive a car, but we don't teach them simple finances that would really help them through life. I guess they feel the parents should do that, but how many parents are in bad situations due to never having been taught how to manage their money?



Yesterday my coworker took her daughters to a Cheetah Girls concert. In the process she lost her debit card and didn't realize it till this morning. she called the bank to cancel it and found out that someone already charged up $150 on it. People have no morals anymore.
 
What's with all the worry about people withdrawing cash from a debit card? Don't you have a 4 (or more) digit code on them to prevent just that thing? I've lost my debit card before. No biggie as unless somebody could figure out my PIN number they weren't getting access to the cash anyways.



I just called up the bank the next day and got one delivered and didn't have to worry about the old card.
 
b\c debit cards are not just debit cards anymore, they are visa check cards, you can use the card as a credit card, but the money is automatically deducted from your checking account. and banks wont prosecute unless it's over a certain amount of money b\c it costs them too much. So to the bank $150 isn't a lot of money, but to a person it might be. Fortunately she was able to get the transaction voided, but most likely they won't catch the person who did this or recover whatever was purchased
 
In this case, Statik13, the big deal was the guy left the card in the machine, walked away and didn't terminate his session. I could have wiped out his account, or at least removed the daily limit. Also, as Jlevin said, if the ATM card is a debit card, they have instant access to your cash, and that can screw you up for several days trying to get your money back.



Also, JLevin, I've had debit cards for going on 20 years...never had one that didn't have a major credit card logo on it. Yes, I like the added security of being backed up by a CC company, but still am concerned that I have a direct link to my cash in my checking account with that card. If I dispute a charge on my regular CC I get close to 30 days to figure out what's what. If I have a dispute on my debit card, the money is already gone...



TJR
 
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