Credit card thieves...

[Brlesq]

I've had my card numbers stolen 3x in the last 4 years, and its a real PITA. Once was a data breach at BJ's Wholesale Club (hundreds of thousands of card numbers stolen) but the other 2 were simply a waiter or hostess writing down my information while charging my meal I ate OUT OF TOWN and then quickly sending it on to their criminal ring to do some damage before I could return from the trip. In one instance they were even able to manufacture a new fake credit card with my numbers and a magnetic strip in just a few hours! The lesson here is to never talk up the waiter/waitress and let them know you are from out-of-town, and use cash if possible.

BTW, all three times AmEx was superb at (1) identifying the problem before it got to far, (2) figuring out the place where the card numbers were stolen, and (3) getting me a replacement card in 12-18 hours.