Waitress Allegedly Stole $1,000 by Adding Extra Tips to Credit Cards

A former waitress was arrested May 5 for allegedly stealing more than $1,000 in false tips from unsuspecting patrons, reports WTSP in Tampa, Fla. Victoria Lynn Bachmann, 21, worked at Ozona Blue restaurant in Palm Harbor from March 11 until she was fired April 10, after the the restaurant management discovered her alleged fraud, according to an arrest report.

Bachmann is charged with grand theft for the $1,074.15 in cumulative tips she is accused of adding to 134 customers’ credit and debit cards — that’s an average of about $8 additional tip per check. The restaurant, which is pressing charges, accused Bachmann of entering tip amounts into the point-of-sale system that differed from what her customers wrote on their receipts, and the restaurant was ultimately liable for the fraudulent charges. Consumer protections on credit and debit cards generally protect the cardholder from fraud liability.

Those consumer protections are nice, but they vary depending on whether you’re using a credit card or debit card, the type of transaction that occurred (like whether the physical card was stolen or just the information was used for a card-not-present transaction) and how much time has elapsed between when the fraud occurs and when the cardholder reports it. The simple solution to all those caveats is to check your card activity daily, so you see fraudulent transactions as soon as they hit your account. The sooner you report the fraud, the more likely it is you can resolve it quickly and prevent any future problems. Left unchecked, credit card and debit card fraud can seriously damage your finances, because high credit card balances may be reported to credit bureaus and damage your credit score (until the fraud is resolved), or a thief could spend funds in your checking account that you need for bills. (You can see how your credit card spending is affecting your credit scores for free on Credit.com.)

You could also just make a habit of paying servers in cash. Still, anyone who uses a credit or debit card should closely review account activity for anything suspicious, because even if your chances of encountering a rogue server are low, there are lots of ways you may become a victim of fraud or identity theft.