Tue update: Credit/debit card skimming, more fall martinis, Central BBQ discounts, Spaghetti Warehouse Groupon, Halloween trivia night

Last night Andy Wise from Action News 5 did a story on credit card skimming. This is a topic with which everyone who hangs out Downtown needs to familiarize themselves. It starts with someone who works in a restaurant, bar, gas station, or other business in which customers are comfortable leaving their credit cards with an employee. The crooked employee then runs the cards through a skimmer, an easily-hidden device about the size of a pager, which can capture and store info for hundreds of credit cards. The skimmer is then given to someone else, who produces new credit cards with the skimmed info. The new cards are then handed off to another party, who uses the cards to run up thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases, often at big-box retail stores like Radio Shack or Walmart. The purchases could happen the night the card is skimmed, or weeks or months later.

I couldn’t find Andy’s story online to link to it, but this news article explains how it works: Waitress rips off customers with credit card skimmer. I know two people who hang out at the bars Downtown (bars where the locals hang out, not Beale) who have recently been victims of skimming, and I have heard of two or three other cases. If you pay with credit or debit cards Downtown, check your statements daily. Also, for smaller “just one or two drinks” type of purchases, consider paying with cash to lessen your risk.

Yesterday I posted a pic of the Pumpkin Spice Martini at the Majestic Grille. Well, they’re not the only ones getting in on the fall-themed drink action. The Peabody Lobby Bar has some special concoctions for the season: Candy Apple Martini, Autumn Warmer, Hot Toddy w a Twist, Almond Joy Martini. All drinks are in the $8-10 range. Sitting at the lobby bar and people-watching is an experience everybody needs to have at least once. It’s fascinating who all you will meet there.

Want to try the turkey plate at Central BBQ I posted about last week? It’ll cost you $9.99… but not if it’s Tuesday and you’re a teacher, cop, firefighter, EMT, or are in a branch of the military. You get to eat for half-off on Tuesdays. If turkey’s not your think, try their delicious pork sandwich, ribs, or wings.

There’s a Groupon for a Downtown restaurant today: $20 for $40 worth of food at Spaghetti Warehouse. You have to spend the entire $40 promotional value in one visit, so unless you’re really hungry you better take some people with you. If you don’t have people to go with you, the $5 spaghetti and meatball deal at the Green Beetle every Tuesday might be a better way to go.

There will be a Halloween-themed trivia night at Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Pub tonight at 8 PM. $1 PBR and Rolling Rock drafts.

Anheuser-Busch has stopped making draft Michelob. The Rendezvous, which has been serving the beer on draft for 58 years, will have to find a replacement. Too bad somebody can’t get something going with that Goldcrest 51 recipe we saw at Cooper-Young Beer Fest…

Tomorrow I will be back with a big post covering the October 31 Halloween parties Downtown. Tonight I’ll be out but plan to take it very easy to rest up for tomorrow, which looks to be a very long night.