You are right. You weren't telling him what to do. You were just judging him. Kind of like Judge Judy on TV...
Here's my story: I was down at the local Outback sittin' there enjoying my sirloin. All of a sudden this thread came to my mind. I got worried about the waiter committing some kind of fraud against me when I handed him the credit card. I says to myself, "Self, ol' Nihaba could be right about this......You best go on and pay cash." I'm thinking, yeah, I'll show these thieving bastard waiters. That's exactly what I'll do. I'll just pay cash. Well, I open up my wallet and guess what?.....I ain't got no cash with me! Well, my pulse starts to race and I'm experiencing a little anxiety. What to do??? I'll just go back and wash dishes for a couple or three hours and that oughta satisfy Outback and my anxiety. I presented my idea to the waiter and he looked at me kinda dumblike and mumbled something about going to get the manager. The manager shows up about 30 seconds later and he ain't mumbling. He says company policy doesn't allow for the customers to wash dishes in exchange for food. Man, can you believe it??? The manager goes on to explain that I either present cash or credit immediately, or he will call the authorities. Needless to say the night in jail was not fun. But, I can say that no thieving waiter is gonna ever see my credit card number again! I'm a guy with principles and common sense, huh???
Use Google and you can find all kinds of incredible memory feats involving numbers that makes my memorizing of three credit cards look like child play. For example, look up the name Daniel Tammet and there are hundreds more like him...from kids to adults. By the way, my almost 4 year old speaks three languages. However, he's exposed to three different languages almost on a daily basis. One parent recently told me its not intelligence...its due to his surroundings. It was tough to walk away from someone that made a comment like that. I don't see it like that... Won't waste my time in explaining. Bye. Mark
To prevent ID theft, if you're really concerned about it - how about this: Contact the 3 credit agencies and put an alert on your file. That'll prevent anyone from opening new credit card accounts or taking out loans under your name. Granted, it also makes it harder for you yourself to get a new CC account or loan - but I believe it simply requires more documentation to prove your identity. Anyone tried this? Does it work?
If you trace it back to one of these known entities you can at least sue them for damage. You can't do that with some nameless and faceless internet criminal. BTW, why do you give your SS# to your doctor?