A North Carolina cafe customer is out $2,000 as her go-to diner posted her entire credit card information online for the world to see.
Rhonda Deaver paid her weekly visit to Smith’s Cafe in Kinston following her doctor’s appointment on April 30 where she dined in at the restaurant, approximately 80 miles southeast of Raleigh.
During her drive home, Deaver received a call from her bank telling her she left her credit card at the cafe.
When she returned to the diner, cafe staff told Deaver they had taken a picture of the front and back of the card and posted it to a local Facebook group to track her down.
“Hey guys, Ms. Rhonda Deaver you’ve left your debit card here at the store, we have placed it in a secure location. Please if you know her let her know we have it and would love to make sure it is returned!!” the cafe posted to the “Word of Mouth Kinston” group.
But the well-meaning gesture wasn’t thoroughly thought out.
The employees forgot to blur out any of the numbers on the card, leaving the personal information open for all ill-intended individuals.
Multiple purchases using the card’s numbers left Deaver responsible for $2,000 worth of charges.
“I couldn’t believe they did that, but I was sick thinking I might be responsible for all those charges,” Deaver told WCTI.
Fortunately, the card’s security feature didn’t allow some of the purchases to go through.
“It had been used a whole lot, a whole lot of declines – but a whole lot that went through,” the aggravated customer said.
Deaver’s bank has closed the account connected to the card, but she was still left to dispute the multiple charges.
Deaver says the $2,000 worth of charges financially hurt her.
“I live on a fixed income, and there’s not like there’s extra money every month to cover those bills that someone else charged on my card,” she added.
Deaver has disputed all of the charges
Financial experts warn people from posting photos of credit cards online even if the numbers are blocked as malicious-minded individuals can figure out ways to get the information.
“I would be worried about people being able to reverse that somehow,” Meredith Radford of the Better Business Bureau told the outlet.
“Even if it is to find the person, it’s easy enough to cancel your credit card and get a new one with your company, that’s not worth it.”
The owner of Smith’s Cafe declined to comment to WCTI 12.
