PounceNow

Citi protects against fraud by declining legit transactions

Dave Armon — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:30:23 +0000

Among the more embarrassing experiences in life is having your credit card declined during a business dinner or at a busy check-out line.

That embarrassment is compounded when your card is in perfectly good standing — no outstanding credit balance or history of late payments.

Citi, which issued my Platinum Select AAdvantage World Mastercard, had no qualms about rejecting the $588 in back-to-school purchases we attempted to make at a Target store in Westchester County, NY, today.

The cashier was not prompted by Citi to ask me for identification, due to the size of the purchase.

No request was made to call Citi’s toll-free hotline to answer a security question.

The purchase was simply refused, leaving me red-faced, my kids puzzled, the shoppers behind me miffed, and the cashier with a belt full of apparel that either had to be purchased or put back onto racks.

I paid with my American Express card.

When I called Citi’s 800 number, the “fraud specialist” told me there had been a wave of large-dollar fraudulent transactions at Target so the bank was protecting itself by rejecting my purchase.

Hmm. The same thing happened to my wife two weeks ago at an Esprit store in the Wrentham (Massachusetts) Village Premium Outlets.

Citi clearly doesn’t want my wife and I to use our credit cards — the same cards that costs $85 per year and allow us to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles for purchases. The bank’s fraud prevention tactics are abhorrent, making it very clear to customers that providing them with reliable service is not its first priority.

We all know credit card fraud is rampant. But there are better solutions than alienating a customer who charges tens of thousands of dollars a year, yielding healthy merchant fees for the bank. And Citi is actually good at this high-tech security stuff.

Citi was one of the first issuers to imprint customer photographs on cards. The bank could promote any number of opt-in security techniques — PINs, biometrics, furnishing government-issued IDs, etc. — to guarantee customers will be able to use their cards wherever and whenever they want.

Instead, the Citi approach is to err against issuing credit for legitimate purchases and then beg for forgiveness after the bank leaves a loyal, paying, law-abiding customer in a lurch. It’s no wonder Citi ranks ninth worst, just ahead of HSBC, in the JD Power and Associates 2010 Credit Card Satisfaction Study Rankings.

The only way I will remain a Citi credit card customer is if I receive an apology and refund of my annual fee. Oh, I’d also like CEO Vikram Pandit to take my daughters back-to-school shopping.

2010-08-31 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Suggest using #socialmedia to re-route Hurricane #Earl Tweetup on Outer Banks, where we'll all blow toward the sea. #
Reason 8 why @vocuspr will keep HARO free: To attract new email addresses to spam with pleas for Vocus software demos #
Reason 9 why @vocuspr will keep HARO free: So they can charge for a "pro" version that delivers reporter queries real-time #
I'm pooped. Drove NYC to Adirondacks to Rochester's Seabreeze to Corning Glass Museum to NYC. http://bit.ly/99pLWJ #fb #
@tiffanyPR Good to hear from you. Hope your summer has been a good one. I went to work to rest up, following l-o-n-g drive with the kids. #

2010-08-30 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

@JustinBieber sick; @NYSfair concert off. Has no forehead. Must use thermometer to check for fever. http://bit.ly/aYgS8i #

2010-08-27 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

If I'm not tweeting, it's because I was successful watching @Netflix on my iPhone, thanks to new app. http://bit.ly/ckOOJN #fb #
@Gothamist site is down. Bummer. #
Sing to tune of "Silence is Golden:" 63% of respondents to NIRI #socialmedia survey are "concerned about risk exposure" #IR #

2010-08-26 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

My first two call attempts with #GooglePhone generated ringing sound on my laptop but recipient's phone never rang. #Fail #
First Ann Taylor, now Tracie Snitker's @ReverbGames slapped by #FTC for deceptive #socialmedia practices http://bit.ly/bbq6Ld #

2010-08-25 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Wanted: Sledge hammer to disable black livery cab with defective car alarm. E32 & Lex. Wear ear plugs when you drop it off #
@richardbouchez Ahh. We made volcanoes with that same mixture (minus the Skill saw). in reply to richardbouchez #

2010-08-24 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Dark side of #IR Peddling insider information. Suspect gets 33-month prison term in $DIS case http://bit.ly/biLPj5 #
Maker of Richard Branson's panic button – @spot_messenger – equips billionaire on 60th bday kite trip http://bit.ly/bcba0B #
@Marketwire still can't shake event that happened 10 years ago today:$ELX hoax release http://bit.ly/9d3UKX #ir #
Thanks for RT, @robberick. Sephora has better security at the makeup counter than Fortune 100 co's have around earnings info. #

2010-08-23 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Sad. Asthma attack kills veteran CBS News correspondent Harold Dow. http://bit.ly/brhq5C #fb #
@shmashadv Way too young. Wondering if he had asthma prior to his coverage in the toxic dust on 9/11. #
Drenched 2 suits this morning. The first was in the Y pool, which was cool. The second was a Hickey Freeman. Not cool. #fb #
NYT: Howard Rubenstein chimes in on recent "reputational implosions" sufered by companies, athletes http://nyti.ms/dw025d #li #
@hriefs Re pay TV, I dropped CATV 6 mo ago. We watch Madmen & The Closer via $1.99 Amazon downloads to our @Roku in reply to hriefs #
@evan Never met a tech writer who could write an API spec in 140 characters. Good luck. #
A day that will live in infamy, at least in the newswire business. Emulex hoax happened Aug 24, 2000. http://bit.ly/9d3UKX #pr #
S'long mate! Vintner w/ loads of Aussie brands delists from Australian Securities Exchange. http://bit.ly/bQZeRv #whiner #

2010-08-22 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Family's back in NYC after summer in Rhode Island. Good timing, judging from today's soaked weather map. #

2010-08-20 Twitter Updates for @DaveyArmon

Dave Armon — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:02:00 +0000

@PublicEarth location-based social network changes name to “PlacéBoök, er, I mean @TripTrace http://bit.ly/an2Wt1 #facebook #
Martha's Vineyard trip prompts @MarkKnoller to compare POTUS vacation days: Bush 223; Obama 70 http://bit.ly/9kWtYh #
Steaing page from bogus BP feed playbook, @Fake_Uriminzok spoof on N. Korea's new Twitter account is off to hilarious start #
Anyone having Twitter problems when using @Firefox ? @TechCrunch noted this last year & it's back http://tcrn.ch/9CfZlW #