San Francisco Taxi Drivers Defy Law, Refuse Credit Cards

I work in New York City, and on occasion, I will hail a taxi instead of taking the bus or subway. New York City taxi cabs are equipped to take credit cards as payment, something that I can take for granted at times. In the past few weeks, however, taxi drivers have been telling San Francisco commuters that fully-functioning credit card machines are not working.

Why do San Francisco taxi drivers hate customers paying with plastic? Well, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency voted last year to pass along the five percent credit card transaction fees to taxi drivers. This might not seem like a lot of money, but that five percent adds up quickly.

According to San Francisco law, cab drivers are required to accept credit cards as payment, but many drivers are quietly breaking the law. Other drivers are instead taking the opportunity to educate their customers about how credit card transaction fees are cutting into drivers' profits and encouraging them to use cash instead of just denying their cards.

Personally, I believe that taxi drivers should follow the law as it states right now and not lie to their customers about broken credit card machines. Instead, they should focus their energies on ending credit card transaction fees which hurt taxi drivers and other small businesses alike. By breaking the law, they are putting their jobs at risk and only compromising their own cause.

Readers, we want to hear from you. Do you take taxis often, and if so, do you use cash or credit card? Also, do you think civil disobedience will help or hurt the taxi drivers' cause? Leave us a comment below, and tell us what you think!

To learn more about responsible credit card use, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com, and go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com to sign up for a free credit evaluation today.

Nursing Home Worker Steals Credit Cards, Check From Patient's Wife

Lately, the news has been abuzz with foster children and toddlers having their identities stolen, and last week, the elderly were brought to the forefront as being vulnerable to identity theft.

80-year-old Loretta Louise Brillhart's husband Richard was a patient at the Colonial Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center earlier this year. During a visit, she left her purse in her husband's room, and Nicole Janise Jones, a caregiver for Richard, stole one of Loretta's checks as well as her credit card and debit card.

Jones used the check to pay her $612.93 Comcast bill, and she charged an undisclosed amount to the credit and debit card. According to the York Daily Record, she went shopping with the credit card and just kept charging the card until it was finally declined.

For high levels of stupidity and the moral depravity to steal from an 80-year-old woman, I am awarding Nicole Janise Jones with the Navin R. Johnson Award. Ms. Jones, you stole from your patient's wife. I have no qualms saying that you are a horrible human being. I hear you are currently being held in the York County Prison, and I hope you stay there.

To learn more about responsible credit card use and protecting your identity, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com, and go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com to sign up for a free credit evaluation today.

New MTA Payment: Convenience vs. Credit Card Security

In the past year, the MTA has been trying out a new method of payment for the New York City subway and bus system. Instead of buying an extra MTA card, commuters could use their swipe-less credit cards for subway fare. When they started testing the new payment method last year, MTA and city officials claimed that paying by touch-and-go credit cards would make subway stations more efficient and cut down on commute time, but I think that by implementing this change right now will actually cause new problems and could put commuters' credit card information at risk.

In the past year, there have been numerous stories about how the technology for RFID chip credit cards like MasterCard's PayPass has not been perfected. It is easy for credit card thieves to grab a card's information just by putting a credit card reader in their pocket and then bumping into a card owner. For the sake of convenience, consumers are putting their personal information at higher risk.

Consumers should also keep in mind how easy it was for criminals to rig ATMs to steal card information. They put their own card scanner over top of the ATM's scanner, and even if a customer suspects that something is wrong with the machine after they swipe their card, the criminal still has their information. How much easier would it be to install a fake credit card touch pad at subway stations or tamper with the touch pads to steal commuter's information?

The MTA is providing another method for commuters who don't have a swipe-less credit cards or just want to keep a separate MTA card, but even these cards are undergoing some changes. These will also be swipe-less cards like the New Jersey PATH cards or London's Oyster cards, but the MTA will encourage commuters to link their MTA card to a credit or debit card so that they won't have to spend time refilling their card at the station. I'm all for moving to swipe-less MTA cards, but I would feel uncomfortable linking my MTA card to my credit card. If I lost a card before that had $10 on it, I would only be out $10. If my MTA card is lost or stolen and it is linked to my debit or credit card, the consequences could be much worse.

How do you feel about the MTA's payment changes? Do you prefer the old cards, or do you think the changes will make commutes easier? Leave a comment below, and let us know what you think!

To learn more about responsible credit card use and protecting your personal information, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com, and go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com to sign up for a free credit evaluation today!

"Mad Hatter" Thieves Hit Detroit

I regularly joke with people that when I get older, I plan on joining the Red Hat Society, a group of women who dress up in red hats and purple dresses and go out on the town together. I was surprised to hear this week that a group of Detroit women had twisted the idea. Instead of putting on hats and going out to the theater, these women are putting on hats and going out to steal credit cards.

The group has been dubbed the “Mad Hatters” by the press, and so far, they have stolen almost half a million dollars worth of cash and merchandise. According to reports, they seek out distracted shoppers who have left their purses unattended in their shopping carts and snatch their cash and cards.

I imagine that people are more trusting of these women because they are elderly and probably remind them of their grandma. Still, crime is crime, and these women are thieves no matter how old they are or how cute they might look in their hats. The police still haven't identified these women, so if you are in the Detroit area, keep an eye out for the Mad Hatters and keep the other eye on your purse.

Today, I am awarding the Navin R. Johnson Award to the Mad Hatters of Detroit. Your hats and thievery will tip off the police soon enough, and thanks to your actions, the people of Detroit will be less trusting of the elderly.

To learn more about protecting yourself from identity theft, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com, and go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com to sign up for a free credit evaluation today.