How a Credit Card SNAFU Can Happen: Darien Example

When a Pleasant Street resident used a VISA card by phone to pay for an order from a pizzeria, a call from Darien police came in after the pizza and other food was delivered.

The incident shows how a simple mistake with giving a credit card number over the telephone can get police involved and create some inconvenience.

Police wanted to know about the transaction after a credit card company had notified them of a suspicious purchase from the account of a customer nowhere near Darien.

It turns out that there was a miscommunication in the card number over the telephone -- perhaps because of noise in the pizza restaurant's kitchen -- and a number was transposed.

Police called the pizzeria, got the address and phone number of the customer and then called the customer -- who later went to the pizzeria and paid for the food.