MaryB said:

I think I will switch to credit card use more now..thanks for that RuthMarie.  I'm sorry you got so much grief over that all..that's a lot of money!!!!!

Thankfully we are not out that chunk of money thanks to fraud protection that card companies extend to their customers.  It's one of the very few nice things they do in that industry.  I also like that they are very swift to jump on suspicious activity.  Can't say the same for the banks but my tone isn't friendly concerning the financial industry today ……. sooooo, I'll leave that unsaid, lol!  Interesting what your friend does each year; thank you, I'll gratefully stash that idea for future use.

The biggest annoyance with having your card number hijacked is having to quickly check to see what purchases have NOT gone through and contact them ASAP so they don't think you're one of the bad boys (eye-roll!).  Seriously, technology did NOT make life easier, just far more complicated than I think it should be.  Which is part of why I enjoy (at enviable distance) the more simpler and somewhat peaceful existence of CITR.

Oh geez, the crooks were either young or remarkably stupid to have it shipped to themselves … but then the majority of criminal-minded are not very bright considering the overcrowding in the penal institutions. 

Now as to the invisible scourge of PC virus creators …!{{{{ <img class="sfsmiley" title="grrr" onclick="sfjLoadSmiley('17162.gif', 'grrr', 'http://chickensintheroad.com/w…..eys/', '', '1');" src="/wp-content/forum-smileys/17162.gif" alt="grrr" /> }}}}! … after two take-downs of our home business computers over the past 20 years despite the anti-viral ware, I have dark thoughts of punishment by medieval means.  Considering the level of grief a virus can exert on anyone's existence … another reason I now copy much of my laptop to a separate hard drive or flash drives … the level of punishment should be enough over the top to make the sociopaths think twice.  The problem is tracking them down.

You would think it would be easier to track individual computers but too much depends on whether they have their own server, what other servers it tracks through and then … and then we're trekking into privacy concerns which the wily, wretched criminal-minded turn around to their own use to tap dance over the very laws passed to protect everyone.  Hackers are required to catch bad-boy hackers which I do think is happening … it is likely being done everyday … but the good guys are having to scramble to keep up with the dark creativity of the bad boys.  Finding them is doable, but gathering enough evidence to satisfy the courts, or to not infringe on privacy laws and ethical rights by blocking them, is the ongoing quandry.  It's a frustrating catch-22.  I think I'll go start some bread now … that's productive and gives my teeth something to grind through, lol!

MaryB, any wireless connection is at risk from any bad boy hacker-type driving down the street or next door within radio range of your PC … most PC's come with some sort of security encryption setup for the wireless but without an additional firewall on the very computer you need protecting, there is still risk.  Banks and hospitals have their own internal massive servers and equally intimidating firewalls … these big boys have never been protected by the internet provider.  All the ISP does is avail you to an on-ramp to the cyber highways of the internet.  If they offered to cover you with a firewall inherent to their service and it failed, the potential for lawsuit would be astronomical.

Come to think of it … you don't have to be connected to the ISP for someone to take a looksee if they are clever enough to get around the baseline encryption of your wireless laptop or PC.  Which is why an internal firewall is virtually your only warning of naughty intent unless you turn off your wireless when not on the internet.  Realistically, a suburban or rural home is a not a high theft mark unless you have an all too clever local hacker who is using you for practice or thinks you have personal information worth the snatching.  Mary, if you have a firewall within your anti-viral protection you've done about as much as you can without buying pricey software at heavy-duty level.  Back up your drives frequently and be vigilant on your accounts … it's all we ordinary Joes and Janes can do.

Well, save for the occasional dark daydream of what we'd like to do to a hacker!

MaryB said: "Now, how can we protect our cards at the gas stations?"

Bluntly, short of not using credit cards at all, I don't believe you can prevent cc info theft at the gas pumps if the pump's collecting software is rigged electronically.  How can an ordinary Jane not in the know of what to look for recognize which pump is armed to steal?  Which is why I never use a debit card at a gas station, why I've never used an ATM, and why I keep a wary eye on my cc accounts.  Ummm, that probably paints me as being a little crazy over-cautious, but so far I haven't lost anything from our accounts over the years to outside sources.  I like what little peace of mind I can manage in our rather unsettling technological existence.  Aaaand it isn't going to become any easier.