The world according to fraud

Yes, I spelled that correctly. I'm not talking about Freud. We all have at least some idea about what his thoughts are. I'm talking about today's world and how it's changed thanks to the rampant risk of fraud.

This is on my mind because yesterday I went shopping. Now this may not seem monumental to most of you, but for me it's almost unheard of. Usually when I'm bogged down with deadlines, I'm lucky to make it to the grocery store for food, the gas station, the bookstore (of course) and someplace to buy paper for the printer.

So it's little wonder that when a sizable charge at Macy's came in to some electronic monitor, alarm bells went off. I've had this happen once before for a similar reason: no one expects me to be out of the house! Okay, so far.

Then, however, things began to unravel. The clerk, who up to that point had been very helpful, was apparently facing a situation she'd never had to face before -- getting authorization. I, up to this point, was happy at the efficiency of the credit card company trying to protect me from theft.

Unfortunately, the clerk had no idea how to get the authorization. She called the credit card company, which was befuddled. She called the Macy's office, which was equally befuddled. My patience, which I never claimed as being anywhere on my list of virtues, was at its limits.

The manager came, and determined that none of the calls had been made to the one number where someone could actually have authorized the charge. She made that call. I spoke to a fraud person who was happy to approve the charge after I'd listed the last 50 million stores I'd visited (seriously, she was happy after the first one I mentioned, but I kept going). She also verified my address, my phone number and how recently I'd colored my hair. Okay, she didn't ask about my hair color, but you get the idea. She was very thorough.

Now in this day and age, I am very grateful to all the people who want to protect me against fraud. I just want to find them in a timely fashion. It goes back to that favorite issue of mine -- customer service. Had the clerk received proper training, I'd have been out of the store in twenty minutes tops. I'd have been happy, not just with my purchases, but with the service. As it was, I was there for an hour and I was exhausted from the commotion.

Now, however, the presents I bought are wrapped and on their way. And now that I've vented, I can put the frustration of the experience behind me. I would, however, love to hear how you feel about these unexpected "fact-checks" to determine your identity. Have you encountered them? Did they go smoothly, or did you wind up feeling like the thief? Sign up below to comment.