Free Bar Tab

[rbcp]

I know this one is obvious and people probably do it all the time, but last night I was at a bar and had an open tab on my PayPal debit card, which only had a few bucks on it.  When I went to check out, I realized this and gave them a different card to pay the tab.  Would a bar be able to do much if I had just left my empty PayPal card there and never came back?

The card isn't even under my real name - it says Bradyus Carter.  And I'm always putting dumb names on my PayPal card, like Luke Skywalker or Roy Gerbil.  What if I ordered a PayPal card under a fake name, canceled the card, and used it to buy free drinks for everyone?  Not that I would ever do anything so horrible, but is there anything the bar could even do about that?

[Sudo]

I think they might ask for ID if the name is too ridiculous but if you got a card with a simple name like say Jaysen Johnson or Jason Heckathorn and you aren't planning on going back to the bar ever, I'm sure you could get away with it. They probably only run an authorization through for $1 just to make sure it works.

[Altalp]

Most credit card companies charge for transactions. If you have ever noticed, some gas stations say that you have to have at least an X amount before they you can use a credit card. With that said, they might not even run the $1 to see if it will go through.
On the other hand, if this has become a problem they might have to see if the card has money on it before they will allow a tab. This is a great scam, I might have to try it sometime. Maybe get a prepaid with only a couple bucks left on it. hmmm     The wheels are turning now...

[rbcp]

Guess I should just pay attention next time I hand over a credit card and see if they run it first.  And HI ALTALP!

[markov]

I could see Paypal potentially taking the money from any bank accounts you have linked to your account, if the bar were to contact them about the payment. All it would require, I think, is for there to be some statement in your card agreement that says they can do this, so may read over your terms before trying.

But I'm not even sure if the bar could charge your card without you present to sign/authorize the purchase

[markov]

If the bar doesn't try to authorize the card when you start your tab, you could just order random new credit cards, and then never activate them. Start the tab with one of those, and then skip out at some point. If they happen to catch it at some point while you're there, you can just act like you forgot to activate it

I guess you'd have to use cards in your real name though.

Whether or not the bar would try to auth the card just depends on the bar really.. a lot of them don't.