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  • Jeff

    New Member
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    0   0   0
    Nov 13, 2008
    29
    1
    I wasn't sure what section to post this in but I felt it was worthy of a thread. I was carrying during the encounter (with CHL) but it had nothing at all to do with the incident which is why I didn't post it in the CHL section. I must say, HPD did a great job and I was pleasantly surprised.

    Few nights ago my wife, daughter, and I had ran by Taco Bell to grab a bite to eat. As I went through the drive-thru I noticed I didn't have any cash so I was forced into using my debit card. I try hard not to use my card at such places because of the growing threat of identity theft. So we order, I pull up to the window, and I notice that the cashier is acting a bit nervous and is keeping my card for an unusual amount of time. I immediately become suspicious so I closely watch all of her movements and eventually get her name. She swiped the card out of my field of view, set it down, and just before completing the transaction she calmly folded up a small piece of paper, shoved it in her pocket, and glanced around at the other employees. To me it looked like she was looking around to see if anyone was looking at her. So I got her name, took my food and pulled around to the parking lot and immediately went inside. Left my wife and daughter in the truck so they could eat.

    I asked for the manager, pulled him aside, and told him what had just happened. He told me I was crazy. Said he was sure that nothing had happened, I was crazy, but he would check into it. Not immediately check into it, mind you, but that he would somehow "check into it" "at some point" and he asked if he could keep my receipt. I said OK. He told me if I found any charges on my card to notify him immediately. Is this guy serious? I started to get impatient as everything he was saying was ridiculous. I calmly let him know if he didn't pull his employee aside right then I would gladly call the police and have them resolve the situation. He looked at me if I was INSANE for even suggesting the idea and told me he was sure nothing had happened with my card and that he would check into it. He wouldn't give me much more so I told him that was unacceptable but OK, figuring I now needed to involve the police I walked out. Also, during my encounter with the manager the cashier had walked out from her drive-thru window, looked directly at me - making eye contact, and walked away.

    Would you have accepted that response if you thought your credit/debit card had just been copied/stolen?

    So I immediately went back out to my truck and called HPD dispatch, told them what happened, where I was at, and they said they would send over a unit. Not twenty minutes later two units show up with three officers. Quite a response IMO. So they get my story, my info, and all three go inside and pull the cashier out. They surround her and start asking questions. They then search her, check over her cell phone, get all of her information, and as it turns out she did have receipts and phone numbers in her pocket but nothing at all relating to my card. While the officers were questioning her, the manager attempted to walk outside but was instructed to go back inside. By the look on his face I think he might've s*** his pants because I saw him go straight to the bathroom after that (I'm not joking..)

    My belief (and seemed to be the suggestion of the police as well) is that she probably dumped the relevant piece of paper when she saw me talking to the manager. Anyway, overall they couldn't have done a better job and I was extremely satisfied with their response time and overall professionalism. I was carrying but it wasn't at all an issue as it wasn't relevant to what was going on (nor was I being detained or anything at all like that.)

    I hated to have to involve the police but the manager obviously wasn't going to do a damn thing about any of it and I couldn't risk my card being stolen if I could've stopped it. I won't be going back to that Taco Bell, for a few years.
    DK Firearms
     

    Shorts

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Mar 28, 2008
    4,607
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    Texas
    Glad to hear that was resolved quickly. Good job keeping tabs on your plastic too. You can't be too careful these days. Kudos to HPD as well. Makes for a good resolution of the situation.
     

    onac255

    Active Member
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    0   0   0
    Mar 2, 2008
    455
    1
    El Paso, TX
    You should have just walked in and paid for your food inside. that way they swipe the card in front of you.

    Oh and I am just offering a suggestion I am not questioning what you did.
     

    JKTex

    Well-Known
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    0   0   0
    Mar 11, 2008
    2,011
    31
    DFW, North Texas
    PD"s all over the country encounter the public every day, all day. Every now and then we here about the bad ones. I read the title and was expecting there to be something extraordinary but it's just another day in the life of a PD.

    It's sad to think people feel that good encounters with LEO's are rare. To the contrary, they are the majority.

    But moving on...

    That's where a lot of CC #'s are stolen. Usually only used a time or 2 or for things Mom and Dad wouldn't approve of, but kids do it. I live in a fairly affluent area and even kids that don't have any financial struggles (HS parking lot full of Hummers, BMW's, custom's etc) will do it for kicks. And, they use pocket scanners to grab the data. A neighbor had it happen at a local restaurant and the kid had a scanner in his apron pocket. He used it for a porn site subscription and a few other minor things.

    Local PD spend a lot of time on this crap. And some of the parents do whatever they can to protect their sweet little POS. I say pop their ass with charges and let them deal with that through HS and attempts to get into that University Mommy and Daddy have worked so hard to get them into.
     

    Jeff

    New Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 13, 2008
    29
    1
    PD"s all over the country encounter the public every day, all day. Every now and then we here about the bad ones. I read the title and was expecting there to be something extraordinary but it's just another day in the life of a PD.

    It's sad to think people feel that good encounters with LEO's are rare. To the contrary, they are the majority.

    But moving on...

    That's where a lot of CC #'s are stolen. Usually only used a time or 2 or for things Mom and Dad wouldn't approve of, but kids do it. I live in a fairly affluent area and even kids that don't have any financial struggles (HS parking lot full of Hummers, BMW's, custom's etc) will do it for kicks. And, they use pocket scanners to grab the data. A neighbor had it happen at a local restaurant and the kid had a scanner in his apron pocket. He used it for a porn site subscription and a few other minor things.

    Local PD spend a lot of time on this crap. And some of the parents do whatever they can to protect their sweet little POS. I say pop their ass with charges and let them deal with that through HS and attempts to get into that University Mommy and Daddy have worked so hard to get them into.

    I know, and you're right. I am currently in the process of applying for HPD myself and have always had a lot of respect for law enforcement. Honestly though, my few other encounters with law enforcement (TX State Troopers) have been anything but pleasant. No need to get into that, however, people seem to complain more about HPD than any other department yet I've had nothing but positive experiences with them personally. I wasn't surprised at how well they handled it but it did surprise me how quickly they showed up and how many officers were involved. Twenty minutes from calling citywide dispatch and for two cars and three officers to show up was surprising to me being that HPD is understaffed and Houston is full of crime.

    I usually wouldn't have used plastic which is why I was keeping an eye on the cashier from the start. It just seemed out of place how long it was taking for her to swipe the card and when I saw her fold up a piece of paper and shove it in her pocket that did it for me. People should definitely be paranoid of using their cards anywhere really, because like you said, it's too easy for anyone to steal your numbers and use the card. Someone I know recently had their credit/debit card digits stolen and it was used to charge $700 for online poker. Had to cancel the card, got his money refunded (surprisingly fast for a debit card,) and got a new card. It's a pain in the butt when the same card is on a long list of bills, etc. He believes it was done at a restaurant, which is apparently one of the most common places being that the waiter actually takes your card out of sight, no one is watching directly over them, and it's so easy with the technology available to the public.

    I agree, charge those punks. No excuse for it.
     

    Jeff

    New Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 13, 2008
    29
    1
    You guys are funny. I felt like scum for posting where it was at, but hey, no need to lie about it

    I know it's just fast food junk but it was one of those things where you don't want a big sit down meal and just a snack. Had I known it was going to be such a problem I never would've gone and probably won't go back for awhile now. Wasn't all that great anyway IMO.

    It was funny because the cop I talked to at the substation where I was near told me he never has any problems there. (at that particular TBell) Thought that was funny. He asked me what Taco Bell I was at (it's only a couple of miles from the substation,) and told me he'd definitely get some officers out there.
     

    kingofwylietx

    Well-Known
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 29, 2008
    1,424
    21
    DFW area.....Wylie.
    Who in their right mind eats at Taco Bell????

    For some unknown reason, my wife loves Taco Bell. I can't stand it. She'll ask me to pick it up every now and then. I'll get her Taco Bell and then drive down the street to Wendy's for my food. I have to admit, I really try to avoid fast food chains......except Chick-fil-et (sp?), I do like that place.
     
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