[Rick Lee]

My Amex got declined at a Chevron in Claremont, CA last week. I was pissed. It was plenty hot out and I was in full riding gear and not in the mood to peel off my helmet, disconnect my radar detector earpiece and go to see the clerk. But I did. When I stopped next, I had vm's on both my phones from Amex asking if I had been at that gas station. I said yes and I really need that card to work for the remainder of my business trip in CA. They said it was all fixed then.

I have a co-worker whose husband is a Secret Service agent, now on POTUS detail, but who previously worked CC fraud. They do get involved when they suspect a big racket going on. He took down one that was swiping customers' cards at a Borders store. They had two card readers, one for the store and one for their racket. Man, the penalties for that stuff can really snowball, depending on how many they write you for.