Bank of America Issues Credit Card to Boy, Age 6

Kids do the darnedest things.

For example, six-year-old Bennett Christiansen of Aurora, Illinois, managed to get his own credit card from Bank of America.

Amy Christiansen, the child’s mother, said that all of her family members had been receiving offers of credit in the mail - including Bennett. For a bit of fun, she allowed Bennett to fill out and send in one of the applications addressed to him.

In a totally unexpected development, Bennett soon received a credit card with his name on it, even though he’d listed his birth date as 2002 and his income as $0. The child’s card carried a $600 credit limit.

Bank of America insists that they do not target or give credit to minors, but Mrs. Christiansen was understandably concerned about the ease with which her child obtained his first credit card. She’d better stay on her toes; Bennett’s 3-year-old sibling has also received offers of credit.

The $23 Quadrillion Credit Card Bill

Imagine buying a pack of cigarettes, only to find that you’ve been charged $23 quadrillion dollars! That’s the shock Josh Muszynski suffered when a billing error left his Visa card woefully over the limit.

Muszynski called Bank of America to try and sort out the error, but they could not explain why he’d been charged so much, and referred him to his card issuer, Visa. Visa, in turn, referred Muszynski back to his bank. After a day of mystery, the charge was reversed.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. A teenage girl was also charged $23 quadrillion after she made a purchase at a CVS store. Two men from Tennessee and Texas were also charged $23 quadrillion - one after buying cigarettes from a Memphis gas station, the other after eating at Wolfgang Puck’s Five Sixty restaurant.

Josh Muszynski joked that, upon seeing the charge, he thought someone must have stolen his card information and used it to “buy Europe”. But fraud doesn’t seem to be the issue here. Visa blames the charges on a glitch that affected some cardholders with prepaid credit cards. According to Visa, the glitch has been corrected and should not occur again.

Credit Card Signature Prank

This prank has been around awhile, but it’s an entertaining read. An individual who uses credit cards for just about all of his transactions gets very annoyed about having to sign for every last purchase. He figures no one really looks at the signature anyway, and that it serves no purpose and slows the process of paying for items by credit down unnecessarily.

He goes on to prove his point by embarking on a credit card prank in which he makes crazy "signatures" whenever he’s presented with a receipt to sign. Some of his signatures are doodles, some are drawings, some are simple marks on the paper. How many do you think he signed in this manner before getting caught? Are the purchases valid with these prank signatures on them?

Read more on the credit card signature prank.

The Tennessee Credit Card Massacre

By now, you might have heard of the 'Tennessee Credit Card Massacre', one man's attempt to destroy his credit cards in the most satisfying ways possible. In the video, Fred Wilharn of Franklin, TN, dons a familiar hockey mask and disposes of his credit cards by slicing, shredding, blending, drilling, and even electrocuting them.

What could drive a man to such vicious acts!? Wilharn had just paid off his credit card debt following a series of rate and fee increases. Rather than celebrating by simply cutting up the cards, Wilharn got creative and decided to commemorate the occasion with an entertaining horror movie spoof. The video has gone viral, and has been featured on ABC, Fox News, and in the Wall Street Journal.

Do you sympathize with WIlharn? Millions of cardholders have been stressed out by rising interest rates. Even folks with good credit standings have felt the pinch of lower credit limits and higher rates. If you've ever felt like cutting up your own cards, be sure to watch Wilharn's YouTube video.

Fortunately, there are still some decent interest rates to be had. Take a look at our low interest credit cards to find one.

Oops! Visa CEO Loses His Wallet, Credit Cards

Joseph Saunders, CEO of Visa, Inc., the biggest credit card network in the world, lost his credit cards on Thursday. Maybe it was the jet lag; he was expected to make a presentation in New York after traveling cross-country from San Francisco. Upon arriving at the airport, Saunders noticed that something was missing.

“I’m supposed to start off, and say that I’m very happy to be here, and I guess I am. But it’s 4:15 in the morning as far as I’m concerned, and I lost my wallet on the way here,” Saunders said. “It’s rather embarrassing when somebody steals my credit cards.” The quip was met with laughter.

Neither Saunders nor Visa cared to provide further details. But what do we really expect them to say? After all, this could happen to anyone.

If your own credit cards turn up missing, the Federal Trade Commission advises you to report the loss as soon as possible. If you report the lost cards before someone uses them to make fraudulent purchases, you won't be held accountable for any amount. If you make the report after someone has used the card to make purchases, you could be accountable for $50 per credit card. After you've made the report, continue to check your statements carefully for unauthorized charges.

Top 5 ways to dispose of your credit cards.

We all know you should destroy your old credit cards that are no longer being used. Scissors and shredders get the job done, but how much fun is that? Almost some! There’s got to be more entertaining ways to destroy your card, so I’ve searched YouTube to bring you the top 5 ways to dispose of your credit cards. Kids, don’t try this at home.
5. Microwave it
This may not be the most effective means but still a fun method of destroying your credit card. I really expected it to spark and crack rather than melt.


4. Blow it up
Amateurs and explosives just don’t go together, however they do make for some great comedy.

3. Blend it
I don’t think anyone will be getting those card numbers.

2. Mow it
It’s hard to tell from the shaky footage, but I think we all know how this turns out.

1. Shoot it
Just fast forward trough the first five minutes and enjoy the carnage.

I was rather disapointed with what I didn’t find, so I also present my top 5 list of ways of disposing of a credit card I’d like to see.
5. Burn it with a laser.
4. Disolve it in acid.
3. Shred it with an angle grinder
2. Place it on the train tracks like a penny.
1. Cryogenically freeze it and bash it with a hammer.