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Ask Slashdot: Why Do So Many of You Think Carrying Cash Is 'Dangerous'?
An anonymous reader writes: Recently, I asked Slashdot what you thought about paying for things online using plastic, and the security of using plastic in general; thank you all for your many and varied responses, they're all much appreciated and gave me things to consider.
However, I got quite a few responses that puzzled me: People claiming that paying for things with cash, and carrying any amount of cash around at all, was somehow dangerous, that I'd be "robbed," and that I shouldn't carry cash at all, only plastic. I'm Gen-Y; I've walked around my entire life, in all sorts of places, and have never been approached or robbed by anyone, so I'm more than a little puzzled by that.
So now I ask you, Slashdotters: Why do you think carrying cash is so dangerous? Where do you live/spend your time that you worry so much about being robbed? Have you been robbed before, and that's why you feel this way? I'm not going to stop carrying cash in my wallet but I'd like to understand why it is so many of you feel this way -- so please be thorough in your explanations.
However, I got quite a few responses that puzzled me: People claiming that paying for things with cash, and carrying any amount of cash around at all, was somehow dangerous, that I'd be "robbed," and that I shouldn't carry cash at all, only plastic. I'm Gen-Y; I've walked around my entire life, in all sorts of places, and have never been approached or robbed by anyone, so I'm more than a little puzzled by that.
So now I ask you, Slashdotters: Why do you think carrying cash is so dangerous? Where do you live/spend your time that you worry so much about being robbed? Have you been robbed before, and that's why you feel this way? I'm not going to stop carrying cash in my wallet but I'd like to understand why it is so many of you feel this way -- so please be thorough in your explanations.
I was robbed by a millennial looking to raise money for a gender reassignment operation
If a thief can tell from a distance whether you are carrying cash or credit cards, well, you are holding it wrong.
To the people who think carrying cash is dangerous: cash never fails to complete a transaction.
https://arstechnica.com/business/2014/10/slow-credit-card-verification-lands-florida-man-in-jail/
When your card gets declined, in some circumstances, you may get arrested. So there's another form of "dangerous" when relying solely on plastic as a form of payment.
Limit the amount of cash you bring into the nudie bar, 'cause you won't be leaving with any.
Protip: The Bundy Dollar...
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
I don't feel comfortable if I go out with at least a couple hundred in cash with me. Always have. If you get robbed throwing a significant roll and running the other way is the safest thing you can do. Thieves hate it if they only get five bucks. Of course I forgot to mention that I also carry a gun. ( Legally with a concealed carry license ).
* Carthago Delenda Est *
Like any decision, it isn't just cost, but cost/benefit. If I basically never need cash, why carry it? The risk is really small, sure, but the benefit is small, too. Second, I misplace things.
Which makes it a more desirable target than credit cards or checks. That's why it's more dangerous to carry than the alternatives.
Pretty soon, enough weak-minded people will believe this and plead with the government to please come and take their cash and replace it with something that leaves an audit trail.
Have gnu, will travel.
m Gen-Y; I've walked around my entire life, in all sorts of places, and have never been approached or robbed by anyone
If you want to play that game.... I would point out, that i've been approached on multiple occasions by people asking for cash, and I've heard from 5 or 6 different friends/acquaintenances
(a majority of these acquaintenaces female...) who at some time within the past 9 or 10 years that were mugged, robbed, or attempted to be robbed under threat of violence at gunpoint at different places at different times.
It is hard to tell what the risk will be for any particular individual, and there are many factors.
It IS potentially dangerous in that all the cash you are carrying might be stolen.
Although it is also likely that in a confrontation, your $1000 Cell phone, Driver's license, Wallet, and your credit cards would all be stolen, And you would likely be subdued, tossed in a ditch, or otherwise prevented from promptly reporting the theft of said CCs, so robbers have plenty of time to spend some $$$ in your name; They may also force you to hand over your Debit card or ATM PIN numbers, and make significant withdrawals from your bank accounts.
But in theory, a less brazen robber will only go for the cash, and your $$$ in other forms will be protected because of your limited liability for unauthorized charges --- You MIGHT be able to get some banking transactions reversed, And at the very least, there will be more tangible documentation of the crime than some cash you claimed to have been carrying.
ALSO, Because cash is so liquid and easy to conceal the fact it is stolen cash..... thieves are more likely to target cash. So the more people who are carrying around a lot of cash, or the more likely potential robbers THINK or BELIEVE you might be carrying around cash AND the more vulnerable a target, the more likely it is you might become a robbery or attempted robbery victim.
I had a friend in college who saved cash to buy his first used car. He went around town with a friend visiting auto dealerships with several thousand dollars in his wallet. At some point he accidentally dropped his wallet along the way and lost between $3,000-$3,500. This would not have happened if he would have paid with a debit card.
...at least of cash like you're talking about..
I've also always heard people say it was dangerous to carry cash, but I don't think it is that much.. At least for robbery.. I know myself though, and I'd be sure to accidentally lose it if I carried cash.. Nobody to blame but myself, but it's still "dangerous" for me to carry cash.
My dad always carried cash though, and one time in the early years of his dementia he got lost (forgot where he parked) and ended up wandering around town. He's diabetic, and his blood sugar got way off exacerbating the situation. Some good samaritans stopped to help him out when he started looking like he had a real problem, and ended up searching his wallet to try to figure out how to help him (calling family or whatever).. When it was all said and done, at least three different complete strangers had dug through his wallet in their efforts to try to help him. When we met up at the hospital later and security passed his belongings along to us, we found that he had a little over $1000 dollars in his wallet still. Now, I have no idea for sure what he started with, but I'm pretty sure it was exactly what he still had in there at the end of the day.
The whole incident really made me rethink that whole "people are always trying to steal from you" mentality that we get pounded into us by the pessimists of society. I think generally people almost always do the right thing when given the chance, which I guess includes not robbing you of your cash in your wallet.
If they had money they'd carry cash. Me? I've got between $100 and $200 on me most of the time. When I'm down to $100 I hit the ATM.
First of all, depending on how one carries their cash and how much is needed to complete the transaction, you may need to pull it out into view of others who can then count or estimate how much you have and if you're worth robbing. Obviously, the mugger is going to use other metrics but telegrapgibg how much you have on you just makes it easier for them.
Second, if my cards are stolen, I am not liable for any transactions. If my cash is stolen, it is jist gone.
That said, cash can be very useful to have from time to time. I don't usually have a habit of carrying it anymore but when I do I try to be careful with regards to "flashing" it.
I carry cash when I need to spend it, not simply to have something in my pocket, and not once has anyone, anywhere, ever tried to rob me.
Those whiners who think carrying cash is dangerous are the same ones who will whine about how dangerous flying in planes is when there's a crash. That completely ignores the 10,000 other takeoffs and landings which took place that same day without an issue.
What is dangerous is carrying a cell phone. Between running into objects or distracted driving because you're engrossed with whatever text message you're trying read/send, having a cell phone is orders of magnitude more dangerous than carrying cash. This doesn't even include people robbing you of your cell phone which then gives them access to your accounts because you've conveniently put all that information on your phone.
The question becomes, which is worse: losing the few dollars you had in your pocket, or giving someone access to all your bank accounts?
I'm not afraid of carrying cash in smaller amounts; but, if you carry large amounts of cash and are pulled over and the police find out about it, odds are they will confiscate it and you will never get it back. It's the new highway robbery. I'm not gonna do the Google search for you but there are plenty of cases.
You could put your whole life savings in a backpack, and if you didn't let anyone see that your backpack was full of cash, you'd be in no greater danger at all than carrying an equal volume of anything else in your backpack. But what if someone just randomly stole your backpack? The odds of this happening weren't any greater than if you packed the backpack full of dead weasels, but you would've just lost your life savings.
So I usually don't carry more than $200 in my wallet to keep the risk down, but there's nothing inherently dangerous about carrying cash, unless you let other people know how that you're carrying a remarkably large amount of cash. Flashing large amounts of cash is dangerous.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
If I have debit card stolen, or even just the numbers. I can claim back the fraudulent expenses and get my money back.
If I'm carrying cash and it's taken, I have way of proving it... and little to no chance of ever getting it back. For this reason I feel uncomfortable having any more than £50 on me at a time and usually go weeks will less than £5 on my person, enough to afford a bus home. I've had my wallet stolen as a teenager with cash in and I've lost a few debit cards as an adult. Losing the money was far worse than the card, I can ring and cancel the card as soon as I notice it missing. I can't ring anyone to tell them to make my cash not work.
It's also too easy for me to spend, usually ends up being spent on consumables and things I wouldn't usually buy; such as food items from places that don't accept card. It's not usually food I need, it's food I'm getting because I have cash to get it with. Some might say have some self control... I do... I keep my money in my account whenever possible.
My mother was afraid I'd be killed if I moved to a big city, as she saw far more bad news in the paper from the city of Toronto than, say, the hamlet of Coatsworth. I'm pretty sure she'd fall for the "don't carry cash" line if you tried it on her.
davecb@spamcop.net
Maybe I would be concerned if I was carrying around a larger amount of cash, but I almost never do.
I am more worried about losing my only card, which is both my debit card and my ATM card, as my bank is making it difficult for me to have multiple cards tied to the same account at the same time.
If I get robbed of a little cash but have my card, I could still withdraw some more.
I don't keep cash and cards together. The common recommendation of what to do if you get robbed is to throw the money on the ground and run. Then the robbers will go for the cash and not you.
If all you have is a card, then the robbers will stomp on you until you give them your PIN number, and they will hold you down while another robber withdraws as much as he can from your account.
"We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
I know someone who was the victim of a purse snatch. Purse found in a back alley just a few blocks away, and all the perp took was cash. I also know a family member who had his debit card stolen and about $1,200 of purchases racked up on it in 24 hours. (Yes, he only had $50 in liability, but he said the time spent on jumping through every phone call and piece of paperwork was a pain.) Your money is just as much at risk in either scenario.
As for me, I hardly ever carry cash. Not because I'm afraid to, but because it's a lifestyle choice. If I have cash in my pocket, I'm far more likely to spend it, as well as spend it on unnecessary things, and not keep track of how much I have left. Though, I know many who say the same about debit cards.
So, I guess, to each their own.
I usually have $500 on me, split between my wallet/money clip and my backpack. I rarely use it though, as the credit card gives me money back.
For some random reason a few years back I had to walk a few blocks with $100k in cash on me-- I had to transfer the money between banks for immediate availability. That was a little more on the uncomfortable side, although I was more worried about dropping it that being mugged.
Robbed on the Metro. They can spot foreigners and know that foreigners carry cash because only idiots travel without cash. Got hit in the ribs and lost $900. Got beat for a bike once. I don't mention the nice things I own to people; one of their menace kids gets wind of it and they'll dwell on it for years, watching for an opening. Saw this happen twice to my father, once to an uncle and also a former employer.
If you're a healthy young male living the dream on the posh side of town during daylight hours no one will mess with you. The minute you venture outside your little safespace or appear vulnerable at the wrong time they'll jump your ass. Flash some cash in a liquor store some time. You'll find out. You claim experience in "all sorts of places" but I'll bet that anyone goofy enough to pose this question on Slashdot hasn't got clue number one.
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
I've never had a checking account with late fees or high interest rates. Many people who carry cash also have debt. Your statements are illogical.
Learn to love Alaska
Only if you are late paying your bills. Or is avoiding that what you meant by being careful?
Lately, what I've taken to doing to avoid that is to, whenever I want to use my CC, I check my current bank balance on my bank's website with my smartphone. If I have enough, I pay for it with the CC (unless they have direct payment, in which case I can just pay using my bank card and pin), and then immediately log back into my bank's website and make a payment on it exactly equal to what I just put on the card before I'm even out the door. If I don't have enough right then and there, then I don't buy it... just as if I didn't have the cash either.
Plus, of course, cash doesn't really work at all for things like shopping online.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
All other things being equal, a mugger is just as likely to take your credit card as they are your cash. (It's usually "give me your wallet," not "give me your cash.") In terms of physical danger, there is no difference. In terms of financial risk, with cash, whatever they buy is courtesy of you. With credit cards, whatever they buy is courtesy of your bank. (Assuming you report the card stolen as soon as you are able, anyway.)
It all comes down to risk assessment. If you live in a place where such crimes are prevalent (or if you're prone to losing your wallet,) choose the option that ultimately ends up being someone else's money.
Honestly, I'd rather have cash on me. Someone robbing me is acting antisocially and violently, and that makes them inherently unpredictable. What do they want? Not a bit of plastic that I can cancel the minute they walk away. Are they sophisticated enough to want my ID to use for identity theft? Nope. Identity thieves pull that crap all the time without having to carry the risk of getting violent with a stranger in public. They steal it electronically.
So ... they might want cash. I'm not sure, but it's a real chance. And if there isn't any cash, how are they gonna react? Are they gonna stab me?
Unless they have X-ray vision, by the time they know whether I'm carrying a bunch of cash or not, we're already way outside my comfort zone - and you know what? I'd rather be able to give them some cash - pull out a good handful of bills and toss them in the wind. Even if they weren't after cash at first, hopefully they'll be more interested in picking up the cash than in chasing me.
Of course, if you're unaware enough to be flashing around all the cash you're carrying for everyone to see - if you just can't stop yourself pulling out your wad of 50s and fanning it around every time you pay for something - then, maybe stop carrying cash around.
I've noticed this, too, about the millennials.
With my N24 sleep disorder (three decades before I found the cure), I spent many long hours of my young adult life walking around on the streets at night (sure, Toronto sounds safe, but it had then one of the largest Italian populations in the world, as was certainly evident from the not-infrequent black limousine Sundays in my part of town; there was one "corner store" I stepped into, and out of again, after a single-pass 1978-vintage Cylon double take).
During those years I acquired a certain instinctive awareness of my surroundings that's impossible to attain doing the cellphone shuffle.
These days, I take an especially good look at anyone who witnesses my $300 monthly cash withdrawal from the ATM (which I use to buy eggs and oranges). But that's about it.
Late at night, I also tended to cross long streets diagonally, at random, somewhere in the middle, during a lull in traffic.
Tits of trouble: See that guy over there? He's following you ...
Street-wise muscle [stares at "that guy" as if he's just received new information]: I know he's been tailin' my ass ... and now he knows I know it.
Quietly alert, with a mildly distracted demeanor, a brisk, fluid gate, and navigationally unpredictable.
That's the formula.
I am happy to carry around limited cash, i.e. maybe a hundred dollars , and thats typically when I am travelling. However in the UK,EU and US we found larger denominations were checked for forgeries, often by a supervisor, that it became the slowest way to pay for anything, or if you stuck to smaller notes they were simply bulky.
At home I use plastic, "tap-n-go" its quick, its reliable, it also means I don't have to carry coins which are even more bulky and heavy than notes.
Its less "security" than "convenience" for using cards.
Cash can be slightly dangerous. It's a much better vector for the spread of diseases than plastic, or NFC. Getting mugged is very bad, but very rare. Getting the flu is probably less bad, but much more common.
Pound! Bang! Bin! Bash! is this a shell script or a Batman comic?
Cash is bad for VISA/MC/ApplePay transaction fees....
Cash is bad to tax collectors....
Cash is bad for government creepers that like to spy on you while you move your money around....
Cash is bad for affiliates that like the buy your name, contact information, and purchase history so they can create a profile and market to you....
Cash is good for privacy and getting things done.
Dumb fucking article. Don't post shit like this in the future. Thanks
If I was going to purchase a vehicle, I wouldn't ever pay in cash anyway, it'd be a cashier's check or a certified check from my bank. I may carry $100 or less with me on any given day, but not thousands, that's just asking for trouble.
Carrying cash is dangerous because hookers go through your wallet when you're not looking, and you generally leave your wallet in your pants when you get naked...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Why would you do that to yourself?
Plus, you can't snap a credit card into a g-string.
If you encounter a criminal, losing couple of hundred bucks is the least of your concerns. You want to quickly give criminals enough value to persuade them to leave you and your harder to replace possessions alone. Just don't show large amounts of cash in public.
You carry a card around that can reach into your bank account?
Let that sink in for a bit. If you are going to use plastic, the only rational choice is credit cards.
"His name was James Damore."
100 years ago, there was no such thing as plastic and checks were untrustworthy. To buy most things, you had to carry cash. Worse, banks were not open 24/7, and was inconvenient. Say you go on vacation. A good vacation now a day can easily cost you $1000 a week, plus transportation. Say $2,500 for a two week vacation. Family of four, double that to $5,000.
Would you walk around with $5,000 in your pocket today? If everyone around you KNEW that you are holding that kind of cash? In a warm, tropical country where people could live for a year on that kind of cash?
Before the modern financial methods - credit and checks, walking around with cash WAS dangerous. Very dangerous. That was why travelers checks became popular. Eventually other methods caught up and became just as trusted and accepted. So you don't have to carry a lot of it.
But 100 years ago, walking around with cash was freakin' dangerous. Now, it is pretty darn safe because we carry much less cash, and the potential muggers know it.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
I don't usually carry much cash for convenience reasons (maybe $20 at most unless I'm anticipating needing cash in the immediate future). I have been robbed at gunpoint before while with a friend. My friend had a couple hundred dollars in cash and I had none. We both handed over our wallets. When the robber looked in mine and saw no cash, he threw it back to me with all of my cards still in it. When he looked at what my friend had, he pocketed the whole thing and ran off in a hurry. I got to resume life as usual while my friend had to begin cancelling and replacing all of his cards and worrying about the cash that was gone forever. I doubt this is a good indication of how other thieves would behave, but that day I was at least somewhat grateful I hadn't been carrying any cash and very grateful no one was shot. I have also had my debit card skimmed/hacked a few times (I live in Glendale, CA and it's known to happen here a lot at local businesses). Fortunately my banks have always made the process of getting the money put back into my account and investigating any fraudulent charges very quick and painless so in the end cost/benefits fall in favor of not carrying cash around or carrying very little.
Cash is gone, cards were locked down within moments. Plus I just dont like cash, its bulky and adding insult to injury whenever you use it, you end up with even more bulk with metal coins
>"So now I ask you, Slashdotters: Why do you think carrying cash is so dangerous?"
I don't. Now, carrying around and flashing several hundred dollars could, indeed, be dangerous. But it is MORE dangerous to have NO cash at all on you. Then you are chained to 100% faith that your card or whatever technology will always work.... and it leaves you with essentially no way to pay person-to-person or at times you don't want to be tracked. In an emergency, cash always works.
>"Have you been robbed before, and that's why you feel this way?"
I would speculate very, very, very, very few Slashdotters have ever been robbed. And not having cash on you won't prevent robbery, which is a violent felony. It might prevent the loss of a whopping $60 or something you might be carrying, but that is so irrelevant compared to the actual physical and psychological danger of the event itself. It is not like you have a sign on you saying "I carry $0, please rob someone else." And that $800 phone and/or $500 tablet and/or $1500 notebook and/or $300 smart watch and/or $150 RayBans are right out in the open, aren't they?
If you believe carrying no cash is some type of protection, you have no logic and shouldn't be on Slashdot at all.
When you really need to get out of a jam, cash is king. Virtually no merchant will refuse it. Unwilling strangers will become helpful if you offer some cash. The odds of getting robbed are pretty low, and a small price to pay--just don't be carrying huge sums. I try to have somewhere between $40 and $100 at all times. The aforementioned benefits are short-term. The long term benefit of carrying cash is that you continue to support the cash system. This is important. If the cash system disappears, then we'll be stuck with things that can suddenly turn off, reducing us to barter. It almost doesn't matter if the switch-flipping is due to malice or incompetence. The immediate consequence would be just as bad either way. Always carry some cash. If you don't, you're part of the problem. Put the thieves in prison, not yourselves.
Of what used to be a halfway decent excuse of a tech website.
The odds of this happening weren't any greater than if you packed the backpack full of dead weasels...
Don't judge.
I was mugged once at rusty knife point. The rusty, dull knife was more scary than giving the guy the cash I had. They got $60. I didn't get stabbed. Figured that was my one mugging of life for the average person... if you believe the stats. I carry cash, CC, Phone, Keys on me. Typically cash for things, but if I get robbed, that's first to go. If they wanted to kill me, I figure they'd do it regardless of what I had on me. I don't want to live my life afraid of worst case scenarios. While I understand the risks, I don't worry about it. I consider it highly unlikely, true or not. I don't substitute cash for CC's. If anything I end up with more than I need in terms of spending power in both forms, as some places I go (in the US) don't take anything but cash as they are very small (legal) businesses. -Arzaboa
Carrying cash is like running applications as root. When everything is going well, it is convenient and you're happy. But if anything goes wrong, you're in a pickle.
If I am carrying almost no cash and I either lose my wallet or someone steals it, then I just call the bank and get them to cancel & reissue my cards. If I'm carrying a lot of cash and I get robbed (or lose the wallet) then that cash is gone and I still need to reissue my cards.
Having a little cash is convenient, having a lot is like doing file management tasks on your OS as the root user. Convenient, but potentially harmful.
Here is the thing, if you don't flash cash around, you're not _more_ likely to be robbed. But there is always a chance you will be robbed someday, regardless of how much money you have on you. If/When that happens, do you want to lose $40 or $400?
I have never been mugged, but I have been in some tight situations and I have had things stolen. When that happens, I prefer to minimalize the damage by not having a lot of cash on hand.
If you're that bad a managing your finances, you probably can't get a credit card anyway.
I commonly use my card to pay at restaurants. But leave the tip in cash. Because more than once I'd get an alert from the credit card company saying, "Normally people don't leave that big a tip. Are you sure that was the correct amount?" Excuse me? You're not only not sitting at the table with me, you're not even sitting at a table in the same state. So don't try and dictate to me what you think my server deserves.
Care killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
"r stuffed wallet at a 7-11 in a dodgy area of town at 0230"
chances are the muggers work for your drug cartel
I'm just guessing, but I don't think you live in New Orleans.
"So now I ask you, Slashdotters: Why do you think carrying cash is so dangerous?"
You're the one who's making the assumption. I'm a 'Slashdotter' but I do not consider cash dangerous.
Perhaps the bigger question is why are you making this assumption about other people rather than just explaining your own reasoning? Deflect much?
Having a few hundred in your pocket is nothing compared to the $1000 phone, $1000 tablet, $3000 computer, etc that we're all carrying around with us and display very visibly.
$20 is a normal, I'd say necessary amount of cash to have in your pocket. You always want some just in case some machine or other isn't working and you need the thing right away. However, I am given to understand that some people, especially in large cities, are well off enough that this is basically equivalent to "no money." I understand why people who think $200 is a more appropriate amount of walking around money might not see a purpose for cash. They're wrong, but I get it.
The real danger is civil forfeiture. Don't travel with more than $500 on your person unless you're prepared to shoot a cop.
Not the OP here, but actually, yes.... yes I do.
Although if you are wondering, I live in Canada... and direct payment cards are a pretty big thing up here.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
and a right wing that pushes fear to get votes. That plus a center wing that goes along with them (Clintons, I'm looking at you). Add to that a media that sells fear as much as sex and yeah, folks are gonna be scared. People are convinced violent crime's going up even though it's a fact that it's not. You're dealing with people that are being manipulated.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I have never been mugged or forcibly robbed. While vacationing in Washington DC, however, my pocket was picked. My wallet contained about $150 in cash, driver's license, Visa card, Medicare card, and some cherished family photos. By the time I contacted Visa, the pickpocket had exhausted my credit limit. Yes, Visa cancelled the card and sent me a new one, but they did not cancel the bogus charges for several days. Thus, my new card was worthless. We had to put our hotel bill and charge our meals on my wife's Master Card. Before the new card arrived, I went to a credit union that was on the same Service Center network as the credit union where I have an account and was able to get $200 from my checking account without having to write a check. (The Service Center concept is like going into Wells Fargo and making a withdrawal or deposit for a Bank of America account.) For me, cash is always available while plastic might have a delay several days if there is a problem.
I always try to keep at least $40 in my wallet. If I get that low, I visit a no-fee ATM (also a credit union feature) and get $100 to $120 more. On the other hand, my wife rarely has more than $20 in her purse. She writes many checks for less than $10.
As for the pickpocket having my Medicare Card, I had already used a hole punch to remove all the digits of my Medicare number. After all, my Medicare number is also my Social Security number. A California driver's license does not contain a Social Security number. Thus, I was protected against identity theft.
We traveled from Washington DC to Chicago via Amtrak. While still in Washington, I notified the travel agent through whom I had booked the trip. To fly home from Chicago, I had no ID -- no wallet -- for airport security. My travel agent had notified the airline; and I cleared security more quickly than did my wife, who had her driver's license for ID. I was not able to replace my stolen driver's license until I returned to California.
As requested by Visa, I filed a crime report with the Washington DC police department. The pickpocket had charged some $7,000 for merchandise at an electronics store. In many jurisdictions, this is grand theft, a felony. Since this was apparently a local independent store, I thought the police might actually be able to identify the culprit. When I mailed a letter to the DC police department several weeks later asking about the crime, I receive no response.
CorpGov wants to track everyone. Everywhere. Always. Cash is difficult to monitor. With your Personal Tracking Device in your pocket, and your identify-linking electronic purchases absolutely tagged to you and you alone, CorpGov feasts. They get to do whatever they want with everything you do that they can track, and what is more definitive and commercially valuable than what you buy? And where? And when? So of course CorpGov is doing everything it can to sow the seeds of doubt about the safety of carrying cash, which they cannot so easily track. As if they held your interests in mind at all, let alone paramount. 'Cash Is Dangerous' is true to the degree that you are Sheeple.
Twice as crazy as I would be if I was half as crazy as I am.
cash is dangerous because visa and mastercard don't get their cut of small transactions like buying a coffee, nor can they track your location and spending habits to enhance the value of the data about you that they sell.
so they force paypass/paywave on everyone by making it impossible to get even a debit card without them, and then spend a lot on advertising to let everyone know how dangerous and scary and inconvenient cash is.
Never had a problem *anywhere* in the U.S.
As is mentioned elsewhere, its not that one gives off an aura of having cash (although there are surely signs, such as looking like a tourist). I was mugged when two guys overheard me and a friend talking about getting cash out of an ATM to go to the casino. Low and behold, I found myself knocked unconscious in a park without my wallet (and that $1,000 in cash I had in there) and my phone.
If you live your life in the suburbs driving to each destination, you probably are at low risk of being mugged. When you live in a city or frequent one, while still not a huge worry, it is a risk that you take. I know probably a handful of people who have been mugged. Its honestly not something I walk around worrying about, but doing things like talking about cash or going to the ATM are definitely going to raise your risk.
Because crackheads love cash and need it for more crack.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
If you have a lot of cash, that's "evidence" of drug crimes, even absent drugs, and the cops will take your money, put it on trial (cash is bad at defending itself and does not get an attorney), and buy boats, pinball machines and hookers with your money.
^ None of that is an exaggeration.
http://dailysignal.com/2015/10...
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
You want to carry some cash, like $40 or something, in case you actually do get robbed.
Someone hard up for cash that is desperate enough to walk up and mug you will be even more aggressive if they get nothing out of it.
Having some token cash to turn over will satisfy their immediate need and usually end the transaction without physical harm.
carried, they wouldn't feel like it was a risk to carry cash.
I've carried cash through all kinds of places. You know what the difference is? I dress *DOWN* when I carry cash. This has a twofold effect: It keeps people from thinking you look like a lucrative mark, AND it helps you weed out the sales assholes who will only serve you based on your financial status. I have met some of the biggest dickholes thanks to dressing down, but at the end of the day, it helped me make sure the most professional salespeople got their commission. If you aren't willing to serve me when I look broke as a joke, why should I help bankroll your obviously ill-deserved lifestyle?
If more people did this, the level of professionalism in sales would go up, rather than scraping around the gutter. Furthermore there would be more knowledgable and competent salespeople to help ACTUALLY fulfill your needs, rather than getting a product that makes you unhappy, but not enough to take it back (as seems to be the trend nowadays.)
You don't even have to drop it - get pulled over by a cop, the ask "Do you have any cash with you?".
"Yes, I'm going to buy a car"
"No, you're not, you're trying to buy drugs. We'll take that cash."
You don't even have to be charged with a crime, and it's all perfectly legal.
It's called Civil Asset Forfeiture. Cops do it every day.
Last year, cops took more using Civil Asset Forfeiture than crooks took in burglaries and robberies.
Once you are all linked up electronically without cash, they can simply take all of your assets. To a large extent they can do that today, but a lack of cash leaves you no other options.
I don't think cash is dangerous at all. I don't carry a bit wad around, but always have some handy. Cash IMHO is as important as guns in terms of personal liberty.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Carry couple-3 hundred most of the time. Hey, I'm passing a casino, well their poker room wants cash, not your're damned piece of plastic. Getting cash out of an ATM in a casino has huge fees associated with it But anyway, I've never been close to getting robbed, and don't frequent places where its likely. Just no reason to worry about it any more than having my phone # in the book or street address accessible on the net. Not hiding. Not much worrying....
Yes, I have been robbed. But I don't have even the slightest fear of carrying cash. I think I'm safer carrying at least a couple of 20s -- you never know when an emergency happens, and cards don't work for every situation, where cash does.
Here's the thing -- criminals don't know if I'm carrying cash or not until they rob me, and if I'm being robbed, losing my cash would be the least of my problems. Losing my ID, phone, and various important cards in my wallet are much, much larger problems, and that would happen whether or not I have cash.
thats not true unfortunately.
-Unresolved symbol? Byte me!
You spend it all at once? I spend about the same, mostly in cash, but I tend to spread the purchases out over the month so don't need to carry it all on me at once.
Why? The only difference in liability is what a company decides. In many countries you are no more lake for fraud on your debit card than fraud on your credit card.
Think you're safe because in credit you can reuse to pay the bill? Well in the good old US of A your credit rating is far more important than you bank balance.
Carrying cash is not dangerous, but then neither is paying for things with cards in the grand scheme of things. The replies about carrying cash being unsafe were to the claim that online transactions are unsafe.
Context matters.
You never been robbed (yet) is not proof that it does not happen.
That really depends on where you live.
For instance, here in Brazil, in some cities, you are supposed to carry around a bit of cash...
The reason goes beyond the idea that is dangerous to carry cash around.
It's because if criminals get to you and you have no money to give away, you might end up beaten, kidnapped or even dead.
I'm not joking. There are some cities in Brazil, particularly the biggest and most densely packed, in which people understand things that way.
I have a bunch of relatives living in Sao Paulo that all say the same thing.
I'll visit them every year, but I'd never live there.
There are several things to consider here regarding your security in cases of armed robbery. Drug users could be desperate and not having cash could be pretty bad. If you only have credit cards and whatnot, criminals could take you in what's known as "flash kidnapping", taking you to ATMs to forcibly get money out at gun point. We have multiple cases like that every years. I have one relative that was involved in a traffic accident, criminals took the chance to mug him, but as he didn't have more than 10 bucks on him at the time they also decided to beat him up.
Then again, carrying too much money around all the time to places on your daily routine is a dead giveaway that you are loaded. I've seen cases time and time again of people who carried money and paid in cash everywhere getting robbed or even worse because criminals learned about their routines.
Oh, it's probably also a big reason why tourists gets mugged a lot in touristic cities around here... happens all the time in Rio de Janeiro beaches, only it's a bunch of people running around taking everything they see from tourists and beachgoers in something called "arrastao". Yes, we even have a name for it, as we have a specific word for robbery followed by assassination - "latrocinio".
These sorts of things probably happens less often in US, Canada, UK and whatnot, but hey, learn from the crappier countries' experience. xD
I have never been accosted in any way .. ever.
I am a male of 146 pounds with no threatening anything about me.
I'm 70. An electrical engineer whose work took me to eastern Canada, northen England, Japan, and various big cities in the US and the most time in Titusville, FL. Having graduated in 1970, the environmental movement made a big impact on what I do. In most of the places I chose to not rent a car (nor use taxis), but took public transit.
My wife, though rather constantly worried about such things for herself, lived her 70 years with the exact same experience. We lived in the middle of Austin, TX all of that time.
That was Zen, this is Tao
I've lived in and around Baltimore most of my adult life. I've never been mugged (yet). I have had my car (a beater at the time) broken into to get the toll change out of it. That was in a fairly nice neighborhood.
One roommate had a knife held to her throat while walking with her boyfriend on the street in a mugging in the middle of the day. Luckily, she wasn't physically hurt but was badly shaken. That was on the edge of a bad neighborhood. (We were poor graduate students at the time)
Another time, my now-wife and an entire bachelorette party were held up at gunpoint by two guys on bicycles while they were waiting outside the bride-to-be's house for cabs to go out for the evening. That was in a good neighborhood -- but good quickly blends into bad and back again in Baltimore (and many other cities I imagine). They took their jewelry, phones, cash, wallets, etc. Threatened to blow off one of my wife's bests friend's head when a couple of the girls got nervous and started to make a break for it.
I've had three different close friends have their houses broken into and robbed.
Moral of my story, I guess, is that living in a high crime city makes you a bit more paranoid about what you do and how you do it.
I carry cash. The government and the bank do not need to know what I'm spending my money on.
I just never need it, or never have the right amount. It's more inconvenient.
However, in much of the country I could imagine there being a concern about it being taken. Jon Oliver episode on Civil Forfeiture:
https://youtu.be/3kEpZWGgJks
http://www.google.com/profiles/malachid
In the US, when someone robs a bank, the bank calls it "identity theft" and bills their customers. The rest of the world treats the bank robbery like the US treats a physical bank robbery, only the bank loses funds.
Learn to love Alaska
$200,000 invested in the NASDAQ at the market lows in 2009 would be over $800,000 now.
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If you're in a bad neighborhood, you should not have all your money in your wallet, nor all your money in the same pocket.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Crazy things like that do not happen outside the USA. Fix your government!
Scenario C crackhead are not complet imbecile robbing random people, they know that people coming out of a bank will most probably have cash. Crackhead try to watch for people coming out of ATM booth then follow up and rob you. If you do home banking and plastic, the probability of that happening is vanishingly small. If you do go to ATM to get money...
Scenarion D Crackhead want to know who has money. Watch outside a place where a lot of people pays stuff either with card or with cash. Crackhead ignore plastic people. Crackhead see somebody paying with cash. Crackhead rob the one paying with cash.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
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visit randi.org
Apparently having large amounts of cash on you can get it stolen by "police"/law enforcement[sic] in states like Texas & Florida with little or no chance of getting it back (thus the word stolen), as they "presume" that the money is "tainted" money that is involved in illegal activities. They don't have to prosecute the carrier under the forfeiture laws -- that way, they don't have to honor constitutional protections. While lawmakers in some states are talking about reforms, they are slow in coming. See "How Police Officers Seize Cash from innocent Americans (https://priceonomics.com/how-police-officers-seize-cash-from-innocent/), Forbes: Copys in Texas Seize Millions by "Policing for Profit" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2014/06/05/cops-in-texas-seize-millions-by-policing-for-profit/) & Cops Use Traffic Stops To Seize Millions From Drivers Never Charged With A Crime (https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2014/03/12/cops-use-traffic-stops-to-seize-millions-from-drivers-never-charged-with-a-crime/).
Basically, the police make big money stealing things and permanently impound money and property with the owner having to prove the money is "innocent" (not tainted or laundered).
I'd be more afraid of these thugs than most others, as the cops can do it in broad daylight with full support of the law. :-(
pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew
BTW, your chance of death in a mugging is higher if you have a gun than if you just say "no."
It makes it so much more easier to stick to a budget. Yes, the occasional online orders and gas I'll use my card. But, basically once a week I withdraw my "allowance" and live off that. Cash works everywhere and some places will even give you a discount if you pay in cash. Second, I like paying in cash because I know my debt is settled right there. I had tires put on last month and I withdrew the amount I needed and went to the mechanic.
I've never been robbed in my life. Like others have said, why worry about a credit card that has its own safeguards when you're carrying around an iPhone?
Finally, I'll echo the annoyance I have with our policy makers catering to corporate interests who want as many of our data points as they can aggregate. I listened to an NPR story about countries even attempting to push cashless economies. Not for me.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
You cannot address these fears with rational argument. Or by quoting statistics. If people "know" that carry money is dangerous (although wearing a $200 pair of trainers or carrying $1000 of electronics doesn't seem to register), then they won't do it.
Does it matter, should we care? Probably not. Everyone has their own irrational phobias. Just don't ever lend those individuals money if they need some cash to get out of a jam. If they aren't used to dealing in the folding stuff, you'll never know if they're good to pay you back - or if the reason they don't carry cash is because they don't have any money.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Almost all my transactions today are with cards, not cash. It can go one or two weeks between each cash transaction I make and then it's for something insignificant.
It's rare to find anything around here that don't take plastic cards.
So not carrying cash, at least in any significant amounts, is more because it's not really useful not because it's dangerous.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
If only you don't carry cash it doesn't change very much and if only you carry cash it also doesn't change very much. However, as a society, most of us don't carry cash anymore and this means that there is almost nothing of value to pickpocket, rob etc. So just like a vaccine if almost everyone does not carry cash then the attacks go down because of the odds of a pickpocket or mugging being successful drops too low compared to the risks.
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD!
Australian here. I tend to use debit cards most of the time rather than credit. The CC is just there for emergencies. I used to work as cashier and EFTPOS accounted for the bulk of all our transactions.
Like with a CC I'm not liable for any unauthorised transactions, and I usually don't have that much in the linked transaction account anyway (the bulk is locked away in a savings account that is not accessible via the card).
I usually only carry a few dollars in cash, typically maybe $20, up to about $50 max. Not because I think anyone is dumb enough to try to rob me, but because if I have cash I tend to fucking blow it way too easily on stupid shit I don't need or really want. I don't have such problem with debit or credit cards, for some reason. No idea why it works any differently, but it does. That paper just begs to get the hell out of my pocket.
Besides, real modern day ballers don't need fat stacks of cheese any more, they just have accounts everywhere and people know them by name. Or something.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
Cash Drawbacks
- No payment trace
- Might be stolen (without any insurance)
- Heavier (than a card), usually
- Might carry some previous owner's diseases
Cash Advantages
- No payment trace
- Might be easily donated/given
- Heavier (than a card), usually - you know where it is
- Might carry some previous owner's fragrance
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I don't carry cash. Never really have.
Never been mugged. Other people I know have.
Never lost my wallet. Other people I know have.
If I'm forced to use cash, I draw out as little as possible.
It's not because "Oh, no, someone might mug me". Cancelling cards and trying to remember what else you had in there is a pain in the arse no matter what, even if they don't have the PIN.
It's because... I don't need cash. And it's easily lost / forgotten. And it takes up space. And inevitably the second I use that note, I end up with a bunch of coins and have nowhere to put them (no coin pocket on wallet = MUCH smaller wallet). And if I want a bunch of coins, I would have to get a note, then go find change.
I work on the principle that this is 2017. I haven't *needed* cash since at last 2000. Sure, I've used it. Sure, it's come in handy. Sure, some things are easier with cash (e.g. paying for parking). But in general, it's not necessary.
And if a place doesn't take card but only takes cash - that's their business decision. If I happen to have some, I'll use that service if I want it. If not, I'll go elsewhere. I can buy everything from a loaf of bread to a house with a card. But cash is just a pain in the arse. Even if people take cash, it changes often, and they might not take notes, or coins, or certain denominations (50 GBP notes are notorious for refusal, let's not even get into Bank of Scotland notes).
Rather than faff about carrying around heavy little tokens to represent small parts of the number of what was in my bank account, I can just... use a card that does the same, is reusable, usable online, usable offline, smaller, lighter, easier to deal with, recorded (comes in handy when someone says "how much did that cost" or "did that get paid"), doesn't take up my entire pocket, and works in pretty much the same places.
Remember when we used to read sci-fi stories about "credits" stored on tokens that worked anywhere in the world/galaxy? I've got one in my pocket. In fact, I've got a couple of different ones. And they can only be used by myself.
If I go into London, I don't give a second thought to how I'm going to pay. I don't need to plan, or take money out, or guess at how much I'll need. If I go into the middle of nowhere and need a sandwich, it works just the same too. There are few exceptions nowadays, and all of them - I've found - can be got around. I mean, in the absolute extreme, you go and use this mysterious token card to go get... cash. I hate having to do it, and haven't done it in years (I'm much more likely to just go elsewhere), but it's always possible.
Plus, if I go abroad, I don't even need to know what the local currency is. Who cares? Just use the same card in the same way in the same kinds of places.
I don't understand people who use or carry cash, not because "they might get mugged" (your most valuable asset in a robbery is not your cash unless you're carrying hundreds and hundreds - it's your phone, your designer sunglasses, your car keys, your ID, etc.) but because it's just not necessary.
About the only argument "for" cash is the anonymity, but that's destroyed by all the other things for any normal person: cameras about shop counters, ATM withdrawal records, etc. It's not something I particularly care about either. All the dodgiest fuckers I know, the ones not paying tax, screwing the benefits system, and selling off nicked items are the ones that deal in cash. I'm not saying cash can only be used that way, but it's a way that cash can be abused that a card makes much harder.
And I think I'd rather make people doing that have their lives made harder.
Cash has almost no advantages for the average person. And tons of disadvantages compared to using a card. And if I lose my card, I get a new one just the same. If I lose my cash... well, that's gone forever.
Bullshit. Your credit rating is only important if you care about it. If you live you're life in the black instead of the red, there is little reason for a good credit rating.
But inconvenient, in many cases. I got fed up with carrying a pocketfull of heavy change around and always ending up with a load of unshiftable, petty cash. Contactless cards are the ideal way to pay for small purchases.
As for being robbed - I haven't been robbed as such, but somebody once tried to. I have to say, if you are going to mug somebody, you shouldn't leave yourself so open to attack; a knife doesn't protect you from a well aimed kick to the groin, among other things. And if you threaten somebody with a knife, your opponent can legitimately kill you in self-defence.
Uhhmm... why?
As credit cards cost additional fees, bank cards connected to your checking account (usually even with cheaper short time credit that credit cards) are the go to plastic money in countries that are not stuck with cheques anymore....
bickerdyke
Governments want to get rid of cash so that the next time they have to bail out their friends in the banks for making huge errors in their business plans, they can charge normal punters negative rates, just like many currently do to corporate clients. Once cash is gone, we ALL have to use the banks and if they charge us, we have to pay it. So, using plastic is in the long run a good way to make sure that you DO get robbed. By the bank.
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
While budgeting and purchasing it makes sense to treat it like your money. But when you buy with a credit card, the bank buys the product, and you owe the bank.
So if your card is stolen and charges were put on it. You are not responsible but the bank needs to deal with the theft of their money. (Normally they have insurance)
Now having to prove off those charges is annoying but it is possible. Vs having your cash lost where your money is gone for good.
Now a lot of time you may lose your cash without the typical robbery.
Someone at the store could see you are distracted and skim off some change.
You can lose your wallet/purse by many means. And someone can just take the cash out of it.
Or you can just have cash fall out. Haven't you found a fiver on the ground before?
Then those pennies that you put in the give a penny.
Cash is just not safe, other payment options at least have some safety features in them.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I don't carry cash so I don't have to lie that I have nothing for them while kicking them
... to a certain degree.
So is carrying cash.
I'd feel uncomfortable carrying around more than 350 Euros in my pocket and more that 200 Euros for an extended period of time. It would take getting used to and I wouldn't do it for long. I usually have between 15 and 80 Euros in my purse. In Germany I usually have an ATM in the vincinity of 500 meters when I need larger amounts of cash quickly and we often pay with the typical "Electronic Cash" card that just about every grown up has in Germany. The only reason for me to use cash regularly is to keep track of my spending. Which, IMHO, is a good reason to do it.
Personally, I make a benefit/risk analsysis for everything I own and/or carry around.
If it's valuable, I try to be extra careful with it. Cash or thing, doesn't matter. The most valuable things I have are my MacBook Air (1400 Euros), my bike (650 Euros) and my smartphone (300 Euros). My bike is just below the line of "stealability" and I bought it with exactly that in mind. Decals removed, taped saddle, not that clean and well used. Because I have the largest lock I could get and I only lock it on to things in public places where it's tricky to attempt to lockpick it I'm fairly secure the chances of it being stolen are low enough. My MB Air I always keep around me as I do with my phone. My data is backed up and I've rehearsed what I'd do in a phone killed/stolen desaster.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
the other risks that is not considered is falling into debt. If you are not careful, you will be robbed by banks with late fees and high interest rates
You don't have to be that careful. Set the credit card to be paid automatically from your bank account, make sure that you have as much money in that account as your card's credit limit. You then get 15-45 days of interest-free loan, where you can be earning interest on the money (which you don't get if you're carrying cash). You also then get an itemised list of exactly where and when you spent the money.
People don't fall into debt with cash, but they do with credit cards.
Not even slightly true. A common pattern for people who go into debt is to take small amounts out of cash machines, spend it, get 2/3 of the way through the month, not be able to tell where their money has gone because they're not keeping detailed records of their spending (with cash it's so easy to make a purchase and forget - there's no automatic record) and then need to borrow money for recurring expenses at the end of the month (e.g. rent).
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Because most (almost all) people are really bad at analysing risk.
That's how insurance companies make so much money.
They sell you insurance for things that are extraordinarily unlikely to happen, but, try to get insurance for something that has a 100% chance of happening, and see what happens.
Come to think of it, wouldn't it be a (truly or falsely) good idea to have not only an access PIN code, but also a kill PIN code that you could give while under threat and would deactivate the card as well as call law enforcement ?
Because the only thing we show on the news is people getting mugged. People are affected by that shit, why is that surprising?
I tend to rant.
"Why do you think carrying cash is so dangerous?"
I don't. I regularly carry cash and I don't worry about it.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
I have no problem with carrying around $20 or $100. I do think twice about say $1000 for a couple of reasons. The most obvious one is if I get robbed, it is just gone. No canceling a card. The other is I would only have a lot of cash if I were buying something. Going to buy an engine off Craigslist for $1500 cash, I did give a thought to the fact the people selling it could easily be setting up a robbery.
Many stores in my area have credit only lanes for self-checkout. Cash will always fail to complete a transaction there.
Just try to pay cash for an airline ticket in the US. It isn't going to happen.
It might be that US citizens do not carry money around. However, in other countries it is common to use cash. Also even if robbed, cash is not a problem when being robbed. You just hand over the money. If you have a credit card and the thief wants to know the PIN number, and you do not know it, that could be nasty.
Not the ones that you tuck into your pants like you see being pushed for travelers -- you can get money belts that are legitimate belts, with a zipper on the back side. Search for 'leather money belt', and you should find lots.
But as I've gone through quite a few through the years, some tips:
For times when I'm not wearing a money belt, I'll fold some bills up, and put them in my sock. (but up high on the shin, so it's not in an area that's going to get sweaty. If they do get damp, pull from the inside first).
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
It is just part of the distorted view of life that many people get from tv shows, movies, books, news etc. Ask them about how likely they are to be murdered. Laughable. Media make money off your fears. Fears they generate.
E Proelio Veritas.
> your credit rating is far more important than you bank balance.
Only if you live off of loans.
Nuts, you can buy a car without a loan and save a ton of money. Make "payments" to a savings account each month of what a car would cost. Once you need a new car, find a good used one and pay with cash.
For most people, a good credit rating is a curse. It means you end up paying a lot in interest every month, for no real value.
The push to use plastic, tap to pay etc...it NOT for the convenience, but, because once you eliminate CASH, you remove your freedom to an extent. Yeah, they can lock up your account and you can't get to your money, but, you could, keep cash around your house if you are so inclined. But, if the government "outlaws" the use of cash (India banned certain denominations), and don't think this CAN'T happen, the government can control what you do. Try to purchase a "big mac"...sorry sir...your last medical checkup says your BMI is too high, we'll approve a salad instead. Try to buy an SUV, sorry sir, the SUV doesn't get good gas mileage, how about a hybrid, or better yet, move closer to where you work and take a bus or ride a bicycle. DON'T think it can't happen. Hell, we already GIVE UP our privacy every time we use a smartphone, computer or pretty much anything else. We put up with the TSA strip searching people in the name of "security". Sad, but the government state, is in a period of a soft tyranny. Eventually, it will become a hard tyranny, or the "one world order" BS.
Carrying a small amount of cash is fine, but large amounts are a needless risk. In the past police have been caught stopping people and seizing cash (or other property) without accusing them of anything; the process made it very difficult and expensive to get the cash back. I read something which indicated any amount under $10K wasn't worth fighting for as it would be eaten by attorney's fees. At one point they were even using mobile card readers to deplete balances from gift cards.
This was such a problem in Florida that there was a law enacted last year which dealt with the issue. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/op...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
The cops can stop you, see you have lots of cash, accuse the cash itself (not you, just the cash) of being involved in or related to a crime, seize the cash, and later use it to buy themselves more military hardware from the government in order to be able to repeat the cycle on even more innocent drivers.
This happens along I-40 and other routes to Vegas all the time, as professional poker players and other gamblers who play in cash-only games and thus need to be traveling with 10 to 20 thousand at a time will attest to often.
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
Theft comes in many charges depending on the risk to human injury. Burglary, for example, occurs when a thief breaks into a empty home/building to take items of value. While people are nearby, or asleep, carries a different charge, even when they are unaware of the event at the time. Robbery and armed robbery, involve direct and hostile behavior toward the person being stolen from. The charges for robbery, and esp armed robbery, carry much higher sentencing than burglary. This is because the dynamics of robbery can change at a moments notice and escalate to assault resulting in injury, rape, and possibly death.
As someone older than gen-y, I can remember a time before debit cards (originally called check cards). The closest thing was an ATM card where you pulled out cash every evening for entertainment resulted in actual lines waiting to use an ATM.
Debit cards and a mostly plastic transaction system have dried up the 'food source' for street mugging significantly. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but if you have no money its likely accepted as normal for a mark to be penniless. This is why identity theft and card cloning evolved to replace mugging. While the result might involve more money stolen, the risk to your safety is non-existent.
Carrying more than $50 in your wallet, or pulling out large sums at a convenient store ATM, will draw unwanted attention and possibly lead to a higher risk form of theft. However, Its never a bad idea to have some emergency cash squirreled away for emergencies. In my trunk of my car I have a basic survival kit of misc things useful for making a shelter or making a fire, should I find myself stranded from an auto breakdown. In said kit is two $20 bills, because running out of gas or low on gas where a card is not accepted is yet another form of stranded. So carrying emergency gas money is never a bad idea.
The risk has to do with people seeing you carrying large (subjective) amounts of cash. People pay with cash so rarely these days, I always pay attention when I see it. I notice, do they pay with large bills and collect change? Are they the type to dig until they find the exact dollar and change amounts, holding up the line forever? If I notice these things, you bet someone inclined to take it from you also notices.
There is no good bug spray that will kill a spider population in your house. Aside from direct spray, they walk above the poison and are unaffected. To deal with spiders you have to kill off their food source. Using electronic currency reduces the spider population and helps to at least keep the theft one where there is no risk of violence.
In Detroit we believed you should always carry enough money for a "fix." That assumes the robber is a junkie. If you don't have enough that might provoke anger. If they get what they need, they will leave you unperforated.
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In the US, credit card fraud is legally not allowed to be held against the cardholder. OTOH, debit cards can have a maximum cardholder liability of $50. That is objectively worse fraud protection for debit cards as compared to credit cards.
True, but you are the rarity, and benefit from that tremendously. 100 years ago, there was a whole class of people that made a living mugging people like you. Now, because it is so rare, their equivalents have moved on to better markets.
Basically, you are benefiting from herd immunity.
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Except for your $500 daily limit.
My $500 daily limit is how much cash I can withdraw from an ATM. I can spend my entire balance in a day (plus a little extra because of overdraft protection) or go into a bank to make a larger withdrawal. I'd have to read up if cash back from purchases counts towards the $500.
What is "civil forfeiture"?
If you have an unreasonably large sum of money, cops can assume you got it through illegal means (such as selling drugs) or that you are going to use it for some illegal transaction (such as buying drugs) and confiscate it.
By far the biggest reason I never pay for things with cash is so I can build up points, and thus get cash back, with my credit card. I even pay all my bills with my credit card (the ones that don't charge a fee for doing so). I then pay off the card every month. Note that this strategy only works if you have the discipline to pay off the card every month and not carry a balance. The other reasons I don't carry cash is because (i) I'm too lazy to go to the ATM all the time and (ii) I'm a minimalist when it comes to my wallet and what I carry. I generally only carry a small amount of cash to cover things at places that don't take credit cards, pay the occasional tip, etc.
Credit cards are stupid. Look how much trouble they get people into.
Well in the good old US of A your credit rating is far more important than you bank balance.
I'll take a $1B bank balance with a 350 credit rating any day of the week. You?
I'm sure there is a term in psychology for this, but people can see and understand the immediate consequences of being robbed. The thief takes your property, so it's something that sits at the front of their thoughts. It's harder the understand the potential loss that you can have if your bankcard is compromised, or lost, or stolen so it doesn't get the same mental concern.
We, as humans, are also quite poor at assessing risk of rare events. Is the risk of losing $200 cash from theft more or less than the risk of losing thousands by your bankcard being compromised? That's also why we'll worry about the flight but not the drive to and from the airport, even though statistically we are in more danger driving to and from the airport.
"Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
Here's a different take on the question: cash stockpiles can be vulnerable if your government decides to reissue currency or eliminate certain bills. The recent Indian currency crisis is the most recent example: the Modi government came in and banned the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and placed strict controls on the amount you could covert to smaller denominations. A lot of people lost huge amounts of savings overnight as the money they had been stockpiling (sometimes good for things like weddings, sometimes more illicit like criminal activities or bribery) suddenly became worthless. More details here.
For me losing a few hours of work worth of cash is a small risk relative to losing my ID, phone etc, and that is a very small risk relative to being injured / killed.
If I'm held up and hand the thief the few hundred $ in my wallet, he may take it and leave. To me that is a very good outcome. I got to an ATM and get on with my life.
If he wants my wallet and phone as well, then I'm pissed, but I'll sort if out.
If he gets angry because I don't have cash and stabs me with a screwdriver, then I'm at least in the hospital - a far worse situation.
The convenience of having enough cash to deal with minor emergencies is great too.
I don't know anyone who thinks that, apart from Visa, and they're not what I would call unbiased.
The only thing "Dangerous" about cash, is that the government can't track the transactions, and credit companies can't profit from them.
The NEWS companies put up every little bad piece of news and people run around thinking crime is going through the ceiling. When in fact the general trend for the last 50 years has been, crime is down! Did you know you are more likely to get hit by lighting then to be kidnapped! The most dangerous thing you can do these days is get in a car.
Why? For the exact same reasons that some people might decide that they only want to use cash... to avoid getting into debt.
As for snapping cash into a g-string.... well I've never had any occasion to go to places where that would be a thing to do in the first place.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
If I carry around $2,000 cash and I get robbed (or even if I lose my wallet), I stand zero change of recovering my cash (or very little chance). If I carry plastic, my finances stand a chance of being recovered.
The older or easier to rob you get the more likely it will occur. I have stopped a strong armed robber personally and held him for the cops. he snatched a woman's purse and tried to run for it. People on the wrong side of the law look for people that pay with cash. That does not mean that they will jump you right away. In some cases the study when you go to the bank or super market or mall and jump you on the way in, before you spend your money. They can also set you up by having a young girl come to you supposedly needing help and when it gets to the point that she can steer you to a certain location you will be robbed and maybe killed. We had a local wave of people hitting the rear of cars and then getting out of their cars acting like they want to give you information for insurance etc.. You end up without your car or wallet etc.. Plastic offers a certain degree of protection and outfits like PayPal can also save your bacon. i use auto pay from my bank account as well as auto deposit. That means I have a solid record of my transactions and only visit the bank about once a year. Not only does that lower my exposure to crime it saves stamps envelopes, the risks involved in driving to pay bills and a bunch of things rarely considered. For example if you lease a car imagine the miles you can save by paying all bills electronically and having direct deposits to your bank accounts.
It seems as if you're confused about where people think the danger lies. It's not that they think going around with cash will somehow make them *more* likely to be mugged. Not at all. The "danger" is in the amount of money that can be stolen when (if) this does ever happen. It's not as if people never get mugged, but thankfully it is fairly rare. That doesn't matter or weigh into this at all. The question you need to ask is, "what is the danger (risk) of losing your money when X happens." If X is getting mugged or losing your purse/wallet, then the answer is 100% when you are carrying cash, and 0% when you're not. Yet in either case, you still have access to the same amount of money. This is a pretty simple rationalisation.
So basically, it's just like loss/theft insurance, and the (small) amount of cash you actually keep in your wallet is your deductible.
Here in the US, you have to get a decent car. Last year, I actually worked at a place where the boss chose candidates on what they drove -- e.g. "This guy drives a BMW, he is well organized and has pride in himself, lets take him over the bloke with the pick-em-up truck." (They knew what people drove from the parking garage cameras.)
Maybe for the shit jobs. I'd never want to work for someone who made decisions on such shitty, irrelevant information.
Bullshit. Your credit rating is only important if you care about it
Hey everyone look, someone who had a good credit rating and doesn't understand what credit rating fuckups do to people trying to (ironically) apply for things like credit cards, let alone houses.
Check your privilege.
Only if you live off of loans.
And the percentage of people who buy houses and cars in cash in America is.... ?
I'll take stupid strawman for $10.
I always carry cash, I VERY RARELY carry a credit card and don't have a debit card.
you know, where people don't get robbed on the steet at gunpoint and shit like that. Aka pretty much all of the civilized world other than the US.
I can think of more than a few things I haven't been charged for over the years when using plastic. Cash or debit is a one shot deal, plastic might not be. Debit cards are easily hacked, at least they were a while ago. Unless I get a decent discount with cash, it's credit card all the way. With bonus cards, I have three, I get free food, cheaper gas and some kind of points towards items that I haven't researched yet (new card).
Personally I am not apart of the crowd that says don't carry money around. If I could I would try and keep about 100 dollars on me when going out fully realizing that cash doesn't return you anything in return but credit will due to rewards which is 1 reason people who are responsible with credit should use it. But 1 big reason I would be scared to carry around anything over say 1 thousand dollars is due to Civil forfeiture. If anything I would be more scared of being pulled over by a cop and somehow them finding out I had a large amount of cash on me then say being robbed. I have never been robbed or even near a situation where I could have been robbed yet (hopefully ever) in my life probably due to the area I live in. I have however dealt with cops from time to time throughout life so if anything bad was to ever happen I would put my money on Civil forfeiture to somehow lose my money to someone. Pretty sad when you are more scared of the people out there to protect you then the few that may be try to kill you. Again though this is even theoretical anyway since I would never really carry over 100 dollars at any given time outside maybe a vacation.
i've been saying it for years. Go 100% digital. It'll help cut down on crime and loss. There's no downside http://www.newser.com/story/18...
I know if I carry around cash, it is likely to disappear. Maybe I won't get robbed, but I'll probably compulsively spend it, or I'll lose it. I am good at losing things. If I lose my credit card? $10 to replace it. Compulsively buy things on my credit card? I'll feel much more hurt at the end of the month when I go through my purchases.
Cash definitely should not be banned or rejected, and I will use it on occasion for specific things, but I feel much safer with plastic.