I was robbed by a Mustachian

[Adventure Chick]

So about a year ago I had my wallet stolen while I was grocery shopping.

Before I could call the banks and cancel the cards, the robber had made one transaction.

it was...........


.... a small bucket of chicken wings at KFC (totaling under $4) :D The robber was so frugal he didn't even get a drink to wash it down :D

[Norioch]

After I lost my wallet, the one credit card I forgot to cancel was charged about $1.50 at a RedBox. The charge wasn't even for a rental. Whoever used my card also used a promo code and got the rental free. The charge was a fee because he returned the DVD a day late.

[minority_finance_mo]

After I lost my wallet, the one credit card I forgot to cancel was charged about $1.50 at a RedBox. The charge wasn't even for a rental. Whoever used my card also used a promo code and got the rental free. The charge was a fee because he returned the DVD a day late.

Though in his defense, late fees just suck....

[I'm a red panda]

These small purchases are often made to determine if the card is viable to use for bigger ones.

[Numbers Man]

Great story, made me smile!

[davisgang90]

If he/she were really Mustachian they would have bought lentils.

[Kaspian]

These small purchases are often made to determine if the card is viable to use for bigger ones.

^^ This!  One of my CC numbers got stolen from somewhere and they slapped a $1 charge to Craigslist to test it.  As I'm a Mustachian, I often keep close eye on my accounts and noticed it within hours--cancelled it right away.  (Though it took awhile to convince the CC company that there is no Craigslist for where I live.)

[Syonyk]

These small purchases are often made to determine if the card is viable to use for bigger ones.

Yup.  I worked with a guy who had a donation page on his website, and was getting an endless supply of $0.01 and $0.05 donations.  Sadly, he paid $0.30 as a base fee for CC processing.  It was almost certainly someone testing stolen credit cards to make sure they work before selling them...

[forummm]

These small purchases are often made to determine if the card is viable to use for bigger ones.

^^ This!  One of my CC numbers got stolen from somewhere and they slapped a $1 charge to Craigslist to test it.  As I'm a Mustachian, I often keep close eye on my accounts and noticed it within hours--cancelled it right away.  (Though it took awhile to convince the CC company that there is no Craigslist for where I live.)

Mine was a $3.42 charge on a Brazilian eBay-like website. The CC bank flagged it for me, emailed me about it, and cancelled the card as soon as I called in saying it wasn't legit.

[S_Philly_PA]

A couple years ago my wallet was stolen, and the thief went on a shopping SPREE - to 2 different dollar stores and Payless Shoesource. I actually felt bad - while I cancelled the card of course, I didn't make a police report.

[partgypsy]

when my sister had her credit card stolen it was definitely not a mustachian, but prob part of a ring.
We were shopping that day, and she purchased something at a department store and we were chatting the whole time, probably distracted. Then walked out to the car. When she went to fill up her car at the gas station and freaked that she didn't have her card (debit type card). My sister can be a bit of a space cadet so I suggested maybe she didn't bring it with her. That's when she then realized the last time she used it was at the department store, and the salesperson didn't give her card back.
She called the card people 30 minutes from the time she lost it, and the people had already hit 2 of the stores in the mall including a sports shoe store and racked up hundreds of dollars. Crazy.

[Charm14]

These small purchases are often made to determine if the card is viable to use for bigger ones.

Thank you! You've finally explained the mystery of why my stolen CC had a $15 charge to kijiji on it, along with $400 worth of Abercrombie and Fitch. Fortunately, the bank flagged the unusual spending and put a hold on my card. No problem getting the charges taken off :)

[Scandium]

When my card was stolen I got hit with $1,000 at home depot, so maybe not mustachian but at least a DIY person.. Of course the other charge was $500 at foot locker.