Hey guys,
My wife tried to talk me into this being a good idea...but after doing some research and calling their customer service number, I slammed the door shut on this fast.
http://www.cumberlandfarms.com/smartpay/
10 cents off per gallon, oh boy! (Says the wife...)
The first question I asked was...what's the catch?
1) In order to participate, the gas station now knows your checking account info. (Um...no!)
2) "But they have an app for your phone!" Okay, great. So if we lose our phone, some meth addict or other unscrupulous individual can use that phone to buy a boatload of gas. (Strike two!)
3) I called their customer service line, and spoke to one of their agents who tried to sell me on this.
Here's some of the questions I asked...
Q: "If I sign up but were to lose my card, is there a twenty-four hour hotline that will allow me to freeze the application to prevent thieves from using the application to buy gas?"
A: No.
Q: "If I put the app on my Smart phone, is there a twenty-four hour hotline that will allow me to freeze the application to prevent thieves from using the application to buy gas?"
A: No.
Q: "Would the application be password-protected, so that way a thief who gets hold of my Smart Phone or my card would be prevented from having access to my bank account for purchasing gas?"
A: No.
Q: "What type of security measures are in place at the pump to prevent thieves from using skimmers, scanners, or other devices to access this information and access to it?"
A: Well, that's up to the individual store manager.
Q: "Is there any way for employees to gather data from the system...and get the account numbers so that they can have access to customer's bank holdings?"
A: "Well, I suppose they could...we hadn't considered that."
When I heard him coughing and sputtering like a Merlin engine nosing over to chase a Messerschmitt, I knew I had my answer!
It just pays to be cautious...identity theft is no joke.
My wife thinks I'm completely nuts...and am being a hard-a*s just to annoy people. Sigh...the price I pay to protect my family.
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