Last night on my way home from work, I found a CommSec debit MasterCard on the ground. It still had over a year before expiry, and there was a four-digit number in small handwriting in the corner of the signature panel. I picked it up, and as soon as I got home, I rang the issuer and got the card cancelled. All they needed from me was the number off the front of the card — they took my claim to have found it at face value, so if you want to play a prank on an ex, or someone whose card you just happened to read the number off… But after I hung up, I had major regrets about what I’d just done. I mean, I didn’t even try to be just a little evil before cancelling the card. The handwritten four-digit number was likely a PIN (yeah, a lot of people keep their PIN with or on their card, hence the warning in the T&C that the bank won’t care about fraudulent withdrawals if you do), and even if it wasn’t, Coles lets you spend up to $30 with no PIN or signature these days. Besides, I picked it up in affluent Rushcutters Bay, and only rich people have CommSec accounts anyway. They wouldn’t miss just a few hundred dollars, right? Damn my honesty!
Don’t be Evil