The end of March has brought two minor credit-card hassles for me. One of my credit card issuers called me on March 23, and again today (March 28), claiming to have detected fraudulent activity on my account. At first I thought it was voice-based phishing, or "vishing", for two reasons: 1. The caller, who may well have been a computerized voice, mispronounced my name. The proper pronunciation is "VIE-pond". 2. My telephone's Caller ID display showed "800 Service" instead of the company's actual name. I've learned to associate generic Caller ID displays with telemarketers, whom I report in good faith to the Federal Trade Commission (www.donotcall.gov). When I had a relative call back, the message turned out to be legitimate. All the company wanted to know was whether I knew the location of my credit card. My other credit card issuer is, for the first time, charging me for a late payment, even though I sent my check well before the due date. Apparently my check was stolen on its way from South Dakota to Utah. I hope I am not the only credit card holder to have had these problems.
    Also check out my ongoing sci-fi/comedy story: 
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