Tip fraud targets diners

[TexasStooge]

From WFAA ABC 8 and the Associated Press

Have you ever had money taken from you? You may be a victim of tip fraud without even knowing it.

It happens when a restaurant waiter or waitress alters your debit or credit card slip after your meal.

Karen Anderson said she is a two-time victim of tip fraud. "It's not until you get your statement do you realize that the change has been made," she said.

It's a change that takes money straight from your account and puts it into the pocket of your server.

Anderson said her son, her husband and friends also discovered they'd been taken—a few dollars at a time.

The key to discovering tip fraud is keeping your receipts. If you're not a stickler for detail—going through your credit card slips and bank records—would you even notice?

"The numbers can be altered so easily," Anderson said. "It's so easy to change a figure from a '3' to an '8.'"

News 8 contacted the Dallas and Texas Restaurant Associations; they said tip fraud complaints are rare.

Card issuers did say they hear the complaints from time to time and they suggest—again—keeping your restaurant receipts.

If you find a discrepancy, let the restaurant know; chances are they'll be embarrassed enough to resolve the matter in your favor.

"It is stealing; it is outright stealing," Anderson said.

A server offered this advice for restaurant patrons:

• When it's time to pay the bill, make good eye contact with your server.

• Mention the server's name so he or she will know you know it.

• Make it very clear that you'd like a copy of your receipt.

These actions will give any deceitful employee the sense that you're a detail-oriented person who is best not to be defrauded.

[george_r_1961]

Better yet tip in cash. Thats what I always do.

[Janice]

Yes, I ordered several boxes of Marlboros online really cheap from overseas. It was legal when I started, but finally the feds or whoever stopped all that. They seized thousands of cigarettes at JF Kennedy airport. I got a letter saying that basically I was out of the money I paid for. This was a big site and I knew several people who bought them, but they finally stopped allowing Americans to buy cigarettes online from overseas companies. They said I was not at fault at all and it was legal at first, but our country finally put a stop to it.