I love using my credit card to pay for fuel and other amenities. It is fast and super convenient and “fraud proof”.
Plus, when the tax-man comes, I can at least account for some of my expenses…
So, on Monday, 2nd March 2024, on my way to Mombasa, I stopped by to refuel. As usual, I gave my card for payment.
Only that things slightly went wrong…
First, I give the card….
They put amount…
They return the gadget for my pin and I do the pin religiously…
Then, DECLINED…
Crap!!! I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT I HAVE MONEY IN THERE SO, to avoid a little embarrassing situation, I immediately redo my pin (perhaps it’s the long journey from Nairobi that has made me miss a digit on my pin…I tell myself…
Once I do the second time, the fuel attendant takes the gadget before I press the green button and says…
“acha nieke receipt ndani chapchap…”
“…let me insert the receipt…”
So, she inserts it and prints a copy….
I go ahead with my journey not knowing that I’ve actually paid twice for one service.
What actually happened was that the first time, a deduction was made and a prompt sent by the bank to my number, but I couldn’t check because of the nice reception and deceptive smiles from the attendant who maybe mistakenly forgot that the gadget had run out of receipts or intentionally targets long distance travelers.
So, I check my phone after a few hours and I have two messages from my card issuer with two deductions from the same petrol station and it hits me… I’m a great investigator but they’ve pulled one on me…
Though late, my investigative instincts start setting in and I begin to think through the situation…
How many victims so far have undergone the same???
Especially the ones who love deleting texts before reading or blocking promotional texts from institutions…
What if this is an elaborate scheme by most service stations???
How many people do not follow up on such and how much do these guys make on a daily basis???
Solutions
- First, perhaps you have not asked your bank to send you prompts on your mobile phone, please do.
- Be checking the prompts every time you use your card to purchase anything, however little…
- Always counter check if what you have purchased is the exact amount you have been charged