Timing

"The credit card passer, like the rubber check artist, normally follows certain guidelines, designed to enhance his credibility with cashiers. He knows that there are certain conventions upon which merchants insist, and he tries to blend in with the crowd.

The first step is reconnaissance. The professional card passer seeks to find the easy targets, and for this, he'll enter various stores to observe their procedures. He may make small purchases himself, with cash or a legitimate card, so that he can see for himself whether cashiers ask for additional ID when a customer pays by credit card, and what sort of ID passes in a particular store. The professional also seeks out careless, tired, or inexperienced cashiers, because these may be lax in security procedures.

Another important factor is timing. The bad card passer needs the anonymity of a crowd, and knows that long check-out lines keep cashiers under pressure. This works in his favor, especially if the merchant hires high-schoolers as extra help during peak periods.'

Temporaries' are very vulnerable to card passing, because they lack both experience and commitment to the job. As temporaries, they earn less than regular cashiers, and the job is just a small stepping stone, not a career.

The first tactical point of a bad credit card passer is to appear respectable. The credit card passer does not enter a store dressed in rags, or demonstrate a surly or vicious manner. He does his best to appear respectable and pleasant. There's another reason for this. Blending in with the crowd makes him or her harder to describe or identify later. It's difficult for a police offer to pin down a physical description when the cashier answers 'just average.'The second point is to conform to normal requirements for card passing. Most merchants require that the customer sign the charge slip, and provide his telephone number. The bad credit card passer has a false telephone number memorized on the spot.. Some merchants require additional ID. The bad card passer does not want to rock the boat by trying to get around these expectations.

Sometimes, the fradulent credit passer won't have adequate supporting documentation with him, but many merchants accept the card anyway. Indeed, many don't even ask for supporting documentation. The reason is that merchants know that most transactions are by honest people, and that checking each one out to the limit would slow down business and even perhaps alienate customers. Another reason is that credit card and check transactions don't fill the register drawer with cash, which is a tempting target for armed robbers. Many merchants prefer to keep as little cash on the premises as possible for exactly this reason. Therefore, they want to accept credit cards with the least amount of fuss and bother, which leaves the door open for the fraud artist."

This is what Burt said.