id theft (debit card)

[deewalt99]

has anyone had this happen to them? i had my debit card info stolen and someone went on a shopping spree in england, and i live in the usa and have never been to england or shopped there, the bank, me and the police department think one of the personnel aboard the ship took my info and used it. they took close to two thousand dollars before i got it stopped. we are working on getting traces run of some of the charges made there. just was wondering. this was done a few weeks after i sailed.

[phoenix1181]

I see a lot of threads blaming cruise personnel for the theft of account information however in many instances, it had nothing to do with a recent cruise or even recent usage. I work debit card fraud and it’s not uncommon for accounts to be compromised locally and have unauthorized transactions show up months later from a foreign location.

When traveling, I strongly recommend using a credit card rather than a debit card. Consumer protection (here in the states anyway) is better on the credit side and if there’s a problem, it’s the bank’s money being used, not yours…………….

[melana]

I had something similar happen to me years ago..but not with a debit card. with a credit card I had "thought" was cancelled.

 

One day I get a bill with a charge of about 500.00 that was charged to this card in a L.A. area Wal-Mart. I have never been to L.A. and after getting copies of the receipt, that didn't even have my name signed to it, and so forth and haggeling with the credit card company it was finally settled.

 

Just be careful next time. Like the previous poster suggested..Use a credit card when travelling when possible. It is much less of a hassel..

[Aquahound]

Anytime you use your card, look closely at the machine you are putting the card in, especially at gas stations. You can buy credit card skimmers on E-Bay and some are small enough to attach to gas pumps without noticing them. This has been a common crime in South Florida over the last few years. When the thieves get your information, they sell it to other criminals, even overseas.

 

Recently, here in Key West, a bar waitress was caught doing this very thing. She had her own skimmer and was swiping credit cards when people were paying their tabs.

 

It's sad, and it can't always be avoided. But just be aware it is happening and pay attention everytime you use the plastic.

[melana]

Anytime you use your card, look closely at the machine you are putting the card in, especially at gas stations. You can buy credit card skimmers on E-Bay and some are small enough to attach to gas pumps without noticing them. This has been a common crime in South Florida over the last few years. When the thieves get your information, they sell it to other criminals, even overseas.

 

Recently, here in Key West, a bar waitress was caught doing this very thing. She had her own skimmer and was swiping credit cards when people were paying their tabs.

 

It's sad, and it can't always be avoided. But just be aware it is happening and pay attention everytime you use the plastic.

 

Wow!! thanks for the info. I think I will stick to cash when in that area for my cruise...

[klfrodo]

Had a friend of mine join us on a small group cruise out of Miami. We did a 7 day Western cruise. They used their credit cards throughout the cruise.

 

A couple of months later, imagine his suprise when his credit card statement showed that he had purchased a new 60" flat screen TV along with a new surround sound system :eek:

The only problem was that someone in Europe had bought it.

[judyzoo]

Similar thing happened to me, shortly after a cruise. Close to $2,000 in purchases were made in France on my debit card before my bank caught it and alerted me. I hadn't been in France for many years. It took about a month for the bank to sort it out and put the money permanently back in my account. I don't think it had anything to do with the ship. I had stupidly left my debit card behind in Hawaii during the cruise and didn't get it back for days, when it finally caught up with the ship. Not sure, but I suspect that might have been when the number was stolen, but then I think maybe not, because the place I left it was honest enough to take the effort to return it to me, once I contacted them.

[Aquahound]

The only problem was that someone in Europe had bought it.

 

we are working on getting traces run of some of the charges made there.

 

The problem you run into is the amount required to get Federal officials involved. Even if a suspect is identified across the pond, the FBI will not even consider a warrant and extradition for anything under $50,000.....that is, if we even have extradtion agreements with that particular country. If it's Nigeria, forget it!

[FritzG]

This happened with our credit card after a land trip to the UK. Three months after we were home a charge was denied at our local Home Depot. When we were handed the phone by the clerk we were asked if we had made over $550 in charges in London in the last few days. They closed the card, and we had to dispute the charges which was pretty quick and easy. Luckily Mastercard caught the unusual charges and questioned them. The card itself wasn't stolen or lost; we had it in our posssession, but someone copied the number.

 

The problem is that there are times when the card is out of your possession, so there's nothing you can do about it except to pay cash. In restaurants the waiter almost always takes the card away from the table, and sometimes in stores the register is behind a partition. We don't like to carry a lot of cash so we just take our chances.

[FireIce0010]

Anytime you use your card, look closely at the machine you are putting the card in, especially at gas stations. You can buy credit card skimmers on E-Bay and some are small enough to attach to gas pumps without noticing them. This has been a common crime in South Florida over the last few years. When the thieves get your information, they sell it to other criminals, even overseas.

 

Recently, here in Key West, a bar waitress was caught doing this very thing. She had her own skimmer and was swiping credit cards when people were paying their tabs.

 

It's sad, and it can't always be avoided. But just be aware it is happening and pay attention everytime you use the plastic.

 

To the OP, that really stinks that someone did this. I have a debit card and have never thought about some of the above situations. I mainly use it at the grocery store and that's about it. Will be more careful now.

[smeyer418]

the problem with a debit card is that by law they have less protection than a credit card. Most banks will let you have the same protection but they aren't required to(and if the bank has a problem it will be yours too). Unlike a credit card with a debit card the money actually comes out of you bank account and the bank needs to put it back in sometimes a long process and by then a lot of checks have gone bong. I have an ATM card that only works with a code at the ATM machine and credit cards...no debit card for me.

[CruiserWKB]

One of the things we do when traveling is buy prepaid credit cards for $200-$300. The only time we use our own card is for the sign & sail on the ship. This way we still carry some cash, but can still use plastic in port if we want.

[momofmeg]

If your info is stolen it can be used all over the world. My friend (lives in GA) had $1400 stolen. Someone used her card in Poland and someone else in California before she discovered it.

 

Unfortunately Hackers are getting very sophisticated and can hack into store accounts. That is why I always use my debit card like a credit card-as hackers can get a hold of your pin # somehow when they hack in. I read this in Reader's Digest about 5 years ago.

 

Several years ago, Marshalls dept. store was hacked- and my debit card was one of those compromised -but because I had not used my pin number-no one had gotten into my account yet-Marshalls informed my bank-who informed me-the bank canceled my debit card and issued another.

[momofmeg]

Similar thing happened to me, shortly after a cruise. Close to $2,000 in purchases were made in France on my debit card before my bank caught it and alerted me. I hadn't been in France for many years. It took about a month for the bank to sort it out and put the money permanently back in my account. I don't think it had anything to do with the ship. I had stupidly left my debit card behind in Hawaii during the cruise and didn't get it back for days, when it finally caught up with the ship. Not sure, but I suspect that might have been when the number was stolen, but then I think maybe not, because the place I left it was honest enough to take the effort to return it to me, once I contacted them.

 

Judy, you should have canceled the card at the first port. I would have. My husband stupidly left his card at a restaurant and did not realize it for 30 minutes. We returned-they knew nothing. I went out to the car and called the bank company-fortunately the phone number was on my card. I canceled it THEN AND THERE. The next day the restaurant calls-they had found it-I toldl them to throw it away-as it was now worthless-hubby already had a replacement with a different number.

 

A couple of years later- we lost a credit card after paying our bill at a hotel on vacation. Thank goodness, my card was a different number- so we still had a card-we called and canceled again-saying the hotel bill was the last legit charge. A few days after we returned, hubby had a new card.

 

The funny thing about THIS time-LOL- was I was cleaning out the car after returning home and there was the card. My hubby had dropped it-but oh well-I was still glad we had canceled it-better safe than sorry.

[serene56]

That IS exaclty why I have a $200 daily limit set on my debit card. No one is gonna take my card and be able to get anything worthwhile

[daisysheridan]

I have a RCCL credit card, several years ago they called and asked if I had been trying to purchase something (I don't remember what) in Florida. No as a matter of fact I haven't. Fortunately they caught it because the person has used the wrong security code.

 

Thanks god for pro-actuve credit companies!

[dunbawn]

Someone used our card # and ordered $3000 worth of things. It was a debit card. I called the bank when I went to buy something and it was declined and they told me I was overdrawn. After filing numerous reports and a police report our money was returned. It took about two weeks.

We have just recieved notice from our bank that due to high identity thefts the cards can not be used in Florida, Texas, and Georgia. I too have a daily limit on my card of $200. It can be a pain sometimes but worth the peace of mind.

 

eileen

[Wants2cruise]

Years ago I lost my wallet during a family vacation. It had all of my ID, credit cards and a checkbook. Luckily my DH had cash on him to get us through the vacation and home. We had to cancel all of our credit cards and our checking account.

 

One of my neighbors had a similar experience. She had her purse stolen at the Miami airport just prior to their cruise. They had to borrow all of their cruise expense money from the other couple that was sailing with them. It was lucky that they were sailing with friends that could loan them that kind of money.

 

As a result of our experience, we now have different accounts for our credit cards. That way if one of us loses a credit card or a wallet we are not dead in the water.

[runnerandme]

MY best friend just had her AMEX card used for air fare in Romania.Two days before that they used the card to donate a large sum of money to a world wide charity. Her card has never been out of her hands. THey said it was random number hackers..:eek:

[phoenix1181]

The fact is, regardless of how careful you are, it may not matter. For the people who are into card fraud, all they need is one "good" credit or debit card number. From there, it's not too difficult for them to work out other viable account numbers.

[FinsDallas]

I noticed last week, on my online banking statement, that I was being hit up for charges just under $40, (38.87, 39.99 etc) repeatedly, (at least 8 times so far) with an unidentifiable name, and they were all foreign sources. Also including the 'international' fees of $1-$2 per transaction. I called the bank while most of the charges were in the 'pending' mode, and had my card cancelled. They were all for online charges, but that doesn't mean the info wasn't stolen when the card was used at a brick and mortar establishment. It's just easier to use stolen info online than in person. We just returned from a cruise to Mexico 2 weeks ago, and I used the card ONLY on the pier. I thought it was 'iffy' that the clerk walked away with the card to ring up my purchase on another register...which is one reason I checked account closely, after making sure my 'pier' purchases had cleared. Yep. I'd been had. I thought I was careful, but sometimes, it pays to be paranoid too.

[agabbymama]

And this is exactly why I didn't follow everyone's advise on this board to use your ATM card to get EUROs once you are in Europe.

 

My ATM tied to MY bank account stayed at home in the safe. I had gotten EUROs here from AMEX (maybe not the best rate) but no access to my bank account funds that way. I did apply for and get a Capital One credit card for any major purchases, and used it for the hotels too.

 

I've been really lucky so far, I've not had any purchases against any of my cards. The only incident I had was I got a letter from Discover that my card had been compromised at TJ Max, so they closed that account and issued me a new card. The TJ Max records had been stolen, but my account was never directly used by anyone.

 

The credit card companies are pretty vigilant about this, now that has happened so frequently. My husband got a call because there were purchases out of his normal pattern. We live in California and someone was using it in New Jersey. They immediately cancelled the card and issued him a new one.

[FritzG]

The fact is, regardless of how careful you are, it may not matter. For the people who are into card fraud, all they need is one "good" credit or debit card number. From there, it's not too difficult for them to work out other viable account numbers.

 

That's the scary thing! It seems that if you use a credit card it's not a matter of "if' you'll have a problem, it's "when".

 

I like the idea of a prepaid credit card for a big trip.

[dunbawn]

Like i said earlier our number had been used. Recently we went on a road trip and every day our bank would place an auto call to see if we had actually used our card in the different states. If we had said no the charges would not have gone through. One other time they refused a charge we were making because it was coming from the UK. I have one card that I use that has a very low limit on it and is not tied to cnything else. I use that one most often when the card has to leave my hands or is out of sight,

 

eileen

[morecruise4me]

On our second cruise we tried to take money our of the ship's ATM machine with our CC card and was denied. When the ship tried to put it through for a purchase, it was denied. We called our CC company, and they said they just wanted to make sure someone else wasn't using our card outside the US. We hadn't informed them we would be traveling and apparently they were keeping a close eye on our card. Now, we always call them a week before a cruise and let them know where we are going and for how long. They make a note on our account and we don't have any problems.