Hyde Park 2: BP of Death

There's a BP station a few blocks west of the law school. Some students refer to it as the "BP of Death," presumably because it doesn't feel like the safest place in the world. The other day I filled up Hitesh's car there, and used my credit card. The next day I got a fraud-prevention alert from my credit card company. I had to confirm that I had made a purchase at the station before they would let me use my card again.

I have ambivalent feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, I appreciate that Mastercard is looking out for me. On the other hand, I've made countless purchases in Chicago since moving here, and this is the first one that caused a problem. It feels a lot like statistical discrimination, and it probably has real consequences: it would be hard operating a business where people had to confirm their purchases before they could use their cards again (presumably it only happens once). Of course, I realize it's just some algorithm on a computer somewhere, and it probably saves people money. Also, who knows: maybe it really is the BP of Death...