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I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

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Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#331

Post by FineTralfazz »

SI_Rob wrote: post #51

Every so often my pessimistic tendencies get a healthy slap across the face by the actions of someone who took the high road when they easily could have chosen otherwise. It's a couple summers ago, at the height of the summer tourist season and I'm cycling up 4th ave SW in DC. Somewhere between the NASA HQ and the National Mall my camera bag - packed full with a fairly new DSLR, a few lenses, and a secondary cell pho…

While I was in college, there was a summer I couldn't find any tech work and ended up doing property claims for a tour company. It paid minimum wage, but it was pretty fun. What really surprised me was how many valuable items (camera bags full of lenses and an expensive-looking camera, CPAP machines, etc.) we would find with absolutely no identifying information whatsoever. We were able to track down some of the owners, but not all of them. If you're traveling, you should definitely have your name and contact information not just on, but inside your bags. It could come in handy someday.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#332

Post by reaperducer »

js2 wrote: post #313
SI_Rob wrote: post #51

Every so often my pessimistic tendencies get a healthy slap across the face by the actions of someone who took the high road when they easily could have chosen otherwise. It's a couple summers ago, at the height of the summer tourist season and I'm cycling up 4th ave SW in DC. Somewhere between the NASA HQ and the National Mall my camera bag - packed full with a fairly new DSLR, a few lenses, and a secondary cell pho…

I left a MacBook Pro behind in the bin at a security checkpoint at Miami International Airport a few years back. I realized it when I got home, looked up the airport's lost & found number, called them, and they had it. I was shocked. They held it for my dad to pick up.

I left an iPad in a men's room at Tokyo SkyTree. Went back 20 minutes later and some random guy (regular guy, no uniform or anything) came out of the men's room and handed it to me. I guess I had that "just lost my iPad" look on my face.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#333

Post by woutr_be »

floatrock wrote: post #52

I hate it when my cynicism alarm goes off, but this feel-good tweet about hacking payment transfers for good is written by a guy who's twitter bio says he's a PM at Transferwise ("We’re building the best way to move money around the world.") All the replies are people contrasting shitty experiences they've had with their own wallets and money transfer services. His top pinned tweet is: > Reasons to work at @TransferW…

To be a bit more cynical, every time I see those generic "change the world" and cheeky "office dogs" things listed as a reason to work there, I can't help think; "you really couldn't come up with any meaningful reasons to work there?"

Maybe I've already gone through enough shitty startups to not fall for it anymore, or maybe I'm just a cynical guy in general.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#334

Post by jaco8 »

netsharc wrote: post #321
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with hitchhiking is that you don't pick someone at random, someone decides to pick you up. If you pick a random person, they'll almost certainly be a normal, honest person. If you advertise yourself with a giant sign "I WILL GET IN YOUR CAR IF YOU STOP", then a small percentage of random strangers, but a large percentage of opportunistic criminals, will stop. I'd argue she got very lucky.

It seems like hitchhiking works then! In safe areas, and in super dangerous areas when you look vulnerable... All those families stopped because they were afraid for her well-being. But still, super lucky, if a criminal had got on that road ahead of the family, the story might have been different.

I agree. I was forced to hitch-hike in Guatemala after missing the last bus . I also was picked up by a family and sat in the back of their truck for about 100km. When I got off at 9pm they advised to only continue to hitch on mining trucks or oil tankers during the night. I still remember sitting under a huge banana leaf during torrential rain waiting for hours for a truck to stop. The driver later dropped me off in the middle of no where and said a bus would stop there by 5.30am and indeed it did stop, but it was full so I was sitting on the roof of the bus for the next three hours together with 10 other souls.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#335

Post by blackflame »

x220 wrote: post #310
blackflame wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come across a type of scam where someone on a dating app like tinder will pose as an attractive person with the intention of trying to convince the victim to engage in sexually explicit texts or snapchats. Once they do, the scammer then looks up the friends of friends of the facebook profile associated with the number and then tries to blackmail the victim with threats of sending embarrassing texts to their clos…

Actually, the best thing you could do would be to not send someone pictures of yourself you wouldn't like shared. Also, the scammer could just add them as friends first.

Yes that would be the best thing but sometimes kids aren’t wise enough. Yes they could add all your friends, but the idea is to kill their incentive. After all they’re banking on you being ashamed for their blackmail to get money from you. Those that matter don't mind and those that do don’t matter.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#336

Post by joewee »

jaco8 wrote: post #329
lkrubner wrote: post #293

In terms of the kindness of strangers, I’m reminded of a friend who decided she wanted to hitch hike around Mexico when she was 18. She was poor but she wanted adventures. She wanted to get away from the beaten path, away from tourist traps, and go out into the rural areas so she could discover what Mexico was really like. Everyone who picked her up warned her that what she was doing was very dangerous. She was lucky…

In a bus traveling south of Mazatlan I met a family and they invited me to stay at their home in Mexico City. This place, as it turned out, was right in the middle of the largest slum and consisted of a metal frame with roofing and side walls made of tarpauline and a mud floor . The first few days there was a queue of people outside just to oogle the foreigner, but it was all good with lots of smiles. The morning tee…

Professional thieves are professional enough to not waste time on the foreigner that was probably broke since you were staying in their neighborhood. And professional thieves need a level of anonymity to work, which goes out the door when they rob someone in front of their aunt.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#337

Post by rovr138 »

droithomme wrote: post #249
mikestew wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deciding I might be a terrorist because I went to the bathroom? No, because you left a container large enough to hold a fair amount of explosives, a container that has been used in other parts of the world at airports to detonate explosives, and you just walked away from it. Tell me what you believe to be the sane response. But if you just want to go take a shit, by all means, do so. And I'm with sibling comment: I d…

People being paronoid pyschotics shouldn't affect my ability to take a poop in peace. Those suitcases full of explosives you are hallucinating about? Has NEVER HAPPENED.

First 2 links I found googling it,

> United Airlines Flight 629, registration N37559, was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft also known as "Mainliner Denver", which was blown up with a dynamite bomb placed in the checked luggage on November 1, 1955. - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_629

> An explosion at the New Tokyo International Airport (later renamed Narita International Airport) occurred on Sunday, 23 June 1985 at 06:19 UTC, killed two baggage handlers, and injured four. The bomb was intended for Air India Flight 301, with 177 passengers and crew on board, bound for Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Narita_International_Ai...

Not recent, but not “NEVER”.

Re: I just lost my wallet on the way home from work

#340

Post by adtac »

Symbiote wrote: post #261
97b683f8 wrote: post #197

Another solution is to look up the BIN (bank account identifier, i.e. the 6 first digits of a credit card number): https://binlist.net/ Then drop the wallet at the bank's closest office.

Can't you just look at the big logo on the front of the card that says "Halifax Bank" or whatever?

Hahahaha overengineering at its finest
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