Wouldn't You Know It !

[qualitygig.livejournal.com]

I just move to Davis, literally just a few days ago, and the first thing I can do is do something for somebody else !

Late last night I walked into the ATM and found a machine beeping at me 'Would you like another transaction?'  Well, being an honest guy I said, 'No'.  But when the machine gave me the card back I had no idea what to do with it (after standing around for a few minutes in case someone came running back to get their card).

And being new to Davis, it wasn't clear to me where to take it.  That's where a Davis friend of mine told me to join and post here.

So here's the Challenge questions . . .

1. What's the name on the card ?
2. What's the number ?  Please don't confirm the security number on the back.  If this is you, though, you know I already know your card number.
3. Which ATM did you leave the card in (left or right) ?
4. What was my last girlfriend's name ?
5. What did I eat for lunch today (please be specific) ?

If you can tell me 3-out-of-5, then I'll give you the card.  If you can tell me all 5, I'm just going to give you the card because you've totally freaked me out with your mental powers.

If it's you but the way this site works makes it risky to answer the above, then let's find a more secure way to get in touch.

Assuming this system will either direct replies to me and / or tell me how to get them once I hit 'Submit'.

Comments

[cowhockey.livejournal.com]

call the number on the back of the card and just cancel it. they'll mail the person a new card.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Um, all of this, or you could turn it into the bank.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Yep, bring it to the bank. Thats what I've done in the past.

[cnoocy]

Have you tried looking up the name in a phone book?

[ron_newman]

The best thing to do with the card is to bring it into the bank branch when it is open -- perhaps tomorrow morning.

If it were my card, I actually would not be able to answer question #2, since I have never had any reason to use the card number without the card. I don't think I get any statements from the bank with the card number on them.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

yes, exactly.

[ex-prunesnp.livejournal.com]

It's not a terrible idea to record that somewhere secure, I'd think. you need it to call the card company if you don't have the card.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

SO while your effort is in good faith, it's perhap slightly misguided - as has been suggested, it's probably best to either call the toll free number on the back for the bank and tell them to cancel it, or to take the card to the bank branch (where they are likely to do the same thing).

[ron_newman]

Regarding this (since you are new to LJ):

Assuming this system will either direct replies to me and / or tell me how to get them once I hit 'Submit'.

LJ will e-mail any replies to you (unless you've explicitly turned them off), but all replies posted here will be public for everyone to see. It would probably not be a good idea for the owner of the card to post a reply to your questions publicly.

You don't have an e-mail address displayed in your LJ profile, but perhaps if the card owner sees this, s/he can send you an LJ Private Message.

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

I'd think the path of minimum effort would be, cut the card and toss it.

[qualitygig.livejournal.com]

Just FYI from the original poster here . . . It's not a bank branch where the ATM was located.

And the number on the back is INTERNATIONAL. Didn't really think to look at that so, good advice about calling, but Ireland is a bit out of my calling plan. I'm starting to think someone may really be facing an uphill battle to get it replaced.

[ron_newman]

The ATM was not in a bank branch, or the ATM was in a bank different from the one on the card?

If the bank exists locally at all (e.g. a Citibank card left at Tedeschi's ATM), taking it to that bank's local branch may still be a good idea.

[ex-whaler.livejournal.com]

Yeah the best bet if that happens again is to let the machine eat the card and destroy it.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Unless it has changed in the last few years, it doesn't destroy it (necessarily). I got my card back in the mail and I hadn't even missed it yet.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Well, that's a fine thing for the person who lost the card too!

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

ATMs don't have card-destroying mechanisms. When the machine eats the card, the card drops into a little receptacle below the card-reader slot, and can only be retrieved by opening up the machine.

That's why I let the machine eat the card when I find one.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

People don't tend to know the numbers on their ATM cards. It's not the same as their account number.

When this happened to me, I phoned the bank and mailed it to the address they gave me. That way they could at least tell the customer that nobody had swiped it and that they were processing a new one. I also stuck a note in the bank window that said "XY, I found your card and mailed it to your bank."

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

I'd have cancelled it the moment I noticed it was missing. International or not.

[whitefire.livejournal.com]

This has happened to me about 4 times. I think the universe wants me to steal money from people's bank accounts.