Beware - Credit Card Fraud In Miami...

[icruz]

Yes...my wife and I experienced fraudulent use of our credit card after a pre-cruise hotel stay in Miami Beach this past September...I will leave out the specifics such as hotel name and credit card used...normally, we will use an agency such as Priceline to secure hotel stays for either pre or post cruising...however, we decided, at the last moment, to fly down a day earlier for our September cruise on the Majesty of the Seas due to the impending hurricanes...I booked the hotel directly over the phone and used my credit card directly at the hotel when checking out (this was the only time and place that we used this particular credit card during our entire hotel/cruise experience in Florida)....the credit card fraud investigation department sent me a letter advising me that several large transactions were denied on the card (grocery store and cell phone company); however, 3 charges had been allowed...bottom line here is to, unfortunately, use cash whenever possible, and purchase your hotel rooms through a reputable agency prior to your trip...hope this will eliminate some potential grief out there

[Croozin Soozin]

Credit card fraud can and does happen everywhere. It's silly to think you can get away with not using a credit card at all. I've had my credit card number used by someone who works in a grocery store for a phone sex line. Fortunately, his phone number showed up on my credit card statement and he was caught - but regardless, the credit card company reversed the charges once it was determined to be fraudulant. I've also had my credit card number used for a purchase in Switzerland - I've never been to Europe and neither has my credit card - but the charge was on there.

 

Unfortunately, credit card fraud is a fact of life.

 

Soozin

[dougp26364]

Personally, I'd like to know the name of the hotel that has a dishonest person so that I might avoid a similar problem myself.

 

This happened with us 3 years ago at Alamo rental car in Las Vegas. I know it was Alamo because, like you, it was the only place that card was used. I've since learned to watch for someone double swiping my credit card on two different machines.

 

Unfortunately, it costs more for them to go after the culprits so I suspect that even though they know where the fraud took place that little is done about it. I know I don't have to pay for fraudulant usage up front (it costs us all in the end) but it still ticks me off that more isn't done to stop this.

[quiltsnh]

We had the same thing happen to us in June of 2003 we stayed at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay... I booked my res. directly with them and never heard a word, payed my balance and instructed the credit card co to close my acct. well they didn't and I got a call in Nov of this year from a women who stated she was with Mastercard and checking to see if we stayed at the SHeraton on the date we stayed in June 2003... I thought this was strange so I didn't give her any info and I said you give me your number and I will call you back... she gave a name and phone number that when I called back was bogus... so I called Mastercard and they told me there was no one there by that name and it is not their practice to make these calls... further research revealed my "closed card" was used in Santo domingo to buy some motor bikes!!!! well I have fraud protection and the fraud dept contacted me to get the details.. and I now have a "closed acct"

Granduer 1999

Victory 2001

Triumph 2003

Explorer 2005

[icruz]

dougp...the hotel was the Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites Miami Beach

[MGoBlue2]

Credit card fraud can and does happen everywhere. It's silly to think you can get away with not using a credit card at all. I've had my credit card number used by someone who works in a grocery store for a phone sex line. Fortunately, his phone number showed up on my credit card statement and he was caught - but regardless, the credit card company reversed the charges once it was determined to be fraudulant. I've also had my credit card number used for a purchase in Switzerland - I've never been to Europe and neither has my credit card - but the charge was on there.

 

Unfortunately, credit card fraud is a fact of life.

 

Soozin

Sure can. A guy I work with used his credit card to buy gas in Michigan and a few days later someone charged a Mercedes on it in New Jersey.

[MGoBlue2]

icruz,

 

FYI - My screen wouldn't go past your first post until I quit displaying signatures, etc. Something in yours is messing with my browser, and maybe that of others.

[jgf]

Me too - I clicked on 'reply to thread' just to see what would happen, and only then could I see the follow-up posts. Only after I read MGoBlue2's post did I think to change my settings - I thought I wasn't displaying signatures but I was. That was the problem.

 

Back to the original topic - I think blaming the hotel is taking it a little too far. Until fairly recently, the most common way to make hotel reservations was to call them up and give them a credit card number over the phone (I did nothing else but for several years in a couple of different travel agencies). Credit card numbers can get into the wrong hands in many different ways, that's just the way it happened to you.

 

I've had my number taken too, in another country, but I'm just chalking it up to a bad employee (found a telephone call on my bill two months after we returned to the States, the bank took it off immediately and gave us a new account number). That won't stop me from going back to that country or the place where we think the card number was lifted, or anywhere else for that matter. It happens, it gets fixed, you move on.

 

icruz,

 

FYI - My screen wouldn't go past your first post until I quit displaying signatures, etc. Something in yours is messing with my browser, and maybe that of others.

[raydon]

Very interesting...I recently used my __card for a pre cruise room at the Port of Miami. Upon returning from our cruise we were called by the fraud department. Seems there were over 900.00 in charges to T Mobile..that was the only place that card was used. My husband used his the rest of the trip. They overnighted me a new card and told me it was an internet charge but I was pretty sure of where the number was lifted. Now I am more certain.

[icruz]

It is simply amazing...the blase approach some people will take concerning serious issues such as this fraud business...first of all, I would never consider dealing with individuals or establishments where I knew this activity takes place, secondly, the fact that these credit card company fraud departments obviously do not prosecute the guilty parties as often as they should is also disturbing...the point of this whole thing is that the avid traveler should be aware of the potential fraud which is so rampid out there, taking necessary precautions to avoid such inconveniences...example - you have a pre-cruise stay at a hotel...your credit card is fraudulently used...you use that same card for your ship's seepass...your credit is denied at the end of the cruise because someone has maxed out your card's limit...jfg, what will you do then ???...a few good decisions as far as credit card use prior to and during your vacation may avoid such unpleasantries...

[Sea Island Lady]

My advice to all of you is to check your bank accounts and credit card accounts online daily! My DH does this and we were able to catch a fraudulent charge and have it taken care of before anything more was charged.

 

We are currently watching our VISA account because of suspicious behavior at the cell phone store the other day. The employee printed off my receipt and then claimed to have handed it to me. I saw the paper drop on the floor, but he checked underneath the counter and said he didn't see it and printed out another for me. I am concerned that he kept the other receipt for himself. :eek:

[pmfan]

May of 2003 we sailed on the Explorer of Seas and used a credit card for our ship account. This was the only place we used our credit card on our vacation. Two weeks after returning home my husband bought new tires for my car. When he went to use the credit card for the purchase it was denied. A quick call to the credit card company and we discovered our card was being used in Florda. We was able to prove fraud, so we was not held responsible for any of the bills, other than our ship charges which we had made. Fraud happens everywhere!

[ZacWolf]

Carrying "cash" especially in quantities needed to pay for a hotel, might not be the best suggestion.

 

I suggest the following:

 

Request a single credit card with only a $500 limit. Every time the credit card company tries to raise it (and they will), make sure you tell them to lower it back to $500.

 

This allows you to charge things like meals and your hotel to a single card that has a very limited credit line. This minimizes any risk of using your card in situations where your card leaves your sight for any length of time.

 

When traveling more extensively I use another card that I keep with a $1000 limit.

 

Between these two cards I never have to resort to using my Check Card except for local transactions near my home or for large transations.

 

Another trick I learned, is that for these two "low limit" cards I utilize my MIDDLE NAME & LAST NAME only (I didn't apply for them with my first name). I utilize one of the credit reporting agency "sentury" services. This is an automated system that notifies me via email when things like requests for new credit and/or a reviews of my credit record by other companies happen. Using the middle/last name makes any requests based on this information stand out in those reports.

 

Another advantage of using the middle/last name combo comes when the hotel you stay at provides your contact information (and most "smaller" hotels do this) to telemarketing companies. When someone calls up and asks for {middle/last} you know it's probably a junk call. Remember that if the telemarketing company is working on behalf of the hotel chain you stayed at (selling vacation packages, etc), it represents a "prior relationship" (you having stayed at one of their sponsor company's hotels) which allows them to get past the "do not call" limitation. I'm still getting calls for "Vacation Packages" based on a Best Western I stayed at in VA three years ago!

 

While the true "monitary" liabiliy is usually covered by the card provider, the liability to your credit report is what you have to keep in mind. Every time you report a card lost or stolen an entry is made to your credit report, and thus becomes public record to any company with access to query your credit report (which is just about ALL companies).

 

 

There is one silver lining to credit card fraud: Home burglery is at an all time historic low. Why bother robbing someone's home for their old used stuff when you can grab a card that lets you steal all new stuff. :p

 

-Zac

[jgf]

I'd rather be a realist (or, as you say, blasé) about it than a Chicken Little, and we consider the decisions we make about the use of our credit to be sound ones by any standards. This is simply not something I choose to get all bent out of shape over. And, in response to your example, we travel prepared for that possibility.

 

It is simply amazing...the blase approach some people will take concerning serious issues such as this fraud business...first of all, I would never consider dealing with individuals or establishments where I knew this activity takes place, secondly, the fact that these credit card company fraud departments obviously do not prosecute the guilty parties as often as they should is also disturbing...the point of this whole thing is that the avid traveler should be aware of the potential fraud which is so rampid out there, taking necessary precautions to avoid such inconveniences...example - you have a pre-cruise stay at a hotel...your credit card is fraudulently used...you use that same card for your ship's seepass...your credit is denied at the end of the cruise because someone has maxed out your card's limit...jfg, what will you do then ???...a few good decisions as far as credit card use prior to and during your vacation may avoid such unpleasantries...

[smeyer418]

Including probably your bank where I bet they have had a teller or two who has done something fraudalent. Did you contact the hotel and what did they say or do? That is more important than a one time incident where an employee did something wrong. Just because they have one bad apple doesn't mean they are rotten to the core.

[sally r]

This thread has really struck home with me. I know three (!) people currently filing banckruptcy, two of them for the second time and one is only 28 years old! I really consider this fraud big time. They buy what they want, take lavish vacations, eat in the finest restaurants, wear expensive clothes and then get the slate cleaned for $200 in filing fees. Why steal credit card info when you can do it with your own? It is just wrong and should not be so easy.

 

I also spoke with a woman last week that worked for Mastercard in their fraud division. She said one guy stole a credit card and made hundreds of purchses with it totaling over $25,000. On every charge slip he printed "I Screwed You" instead of a signature. No one (retailer) even questioned it.

 

And as smeyer418 stated, even bank tellers go bad. I had one steal thousands and it was not easy to prove. Come to find out she had lost her previous bank job for the same thing but they were afraid to disclose it as there was not a conviction, just a plea bargin. So beware the bank teller with a "I (heart) bingo" bumper sticker on her Mercedes.

 

Sorry I am ranting but it has been a rough week!

[madforcruising]

It happened to me once. I used my Credit card in NYC without any problems. Almost a year (!) after being back home I got a call from my Credit Card Company asking if I used my CC overseas during the last week. At that time I haven´t been out of country for month. As this was the first time this happened to me I was a little suspicious and talked to them on the phone and was told that they review the expenses on the cards and it was suspicious to them that there have been a few exepnses on my card showing only a few cents each. They told me that this would be test bookings as they try to find out if the CC is still in use.

Of course my account was closed immediately and the amounts didn´t even showed up on my statement.

 

However I have no problem in using my credit card everytime and everywhere. I use it also frequently on the Internet.

The CC-Company keep us telling to be careful with the CC-number, keep watching our cards when we use it, don´t tell the additional 3-digit number on the back .....

In my eyes all of this is b***sh**.

Nobody really needs to swipe through my CC twice. Of course it´s easier for them but however, everytime I use the card I give all of the data out of my hand. The person I use the card with has a receipt and this receipt has all information he needs on it. And he should have had a look at my card and my signature on the card and right on the back there is the three digit number. It´s really easy to remember a three digit number for a few minutes until I´m gone. And than they have all the information they need for fraud.

To me the only solution would be live without Credit cards. This is not a solution for me so I don´t worry too much.

[kjfbw]

Hi Everyone!

It is Very important to call your credit card company before you go on a trip and tell them where you are going and how long in each place. They will put a note on your file.

[harry0]

I stayed at Sheraton Biscayne Bay and had my Passports ripped -off. here is the full story.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=109934&highlight=bad+start

I do not know who stole them but I would watch my step here. -Harry

[basher83]

Yes, credit card fraud definitely happens! It just happened to my husband and I about a month ago. My husband had just paid the credit card off-- and he checks the account on-line probably once a week. He happened to go back a day later after the payment to make sure the payment went through- and there we had a set of new charges that we knew we hadn't made. They were posted the prior day. We called, and turned out somebody used our credit card in Rome to buy train tickets. Luckily, we caught it after the first day- who knows what they could have done in the days to come. We still have no idea where or how somebody got out number-- especially since we both still had the cards in our hands. The cc company credited our account-- but it still bothers me. One nice thing that CITI has is the option for when you're making on-line purchases to create a "temporary" cc number that is good only for that specific transaction. I thought this was a nice feature to have-- especially since so many have to deal with fraud. Anyhow... glad there's fraud protection because I can't imagine the problem witll be getting any better in the near future!

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

Credit card theft happens anywhere -- the title of this thread shouldn't be interpreted to mean that it's more common in Miami.

 

We were in a chain restaurant in a run-down shopping plaza in a Boston suburb earlier in the year. The waitress seemed to be gone with the credit card forever, but then the service overall wasn't great & we didn't suspect a problem ... til the credit card company phoned us sometime later to verify a large computer purchase being charged at a New Jersey store to our account. The credit card company's fraud division had gotten suspicious - a good thing, since we weren't buying a computer and we weren't in Jersey. The only place we'd used that card was the Boston-area restaurant, and I've got to believe the waitress or an accomplice was "cloning" the card (and apparently wasn't too sharp about it, since the process took a long time).

 

In New Orleans, my favorite restaurant requests a photo ID to accompany all credit card purchases. Initially I was sort of offended, but now see it as a very wise policy. If you can remember to bring your American Express or Diner's Club, you can also remember to bring a driver's license or other photo ID.

 

In Montreal this summer, I gave my credit card to a waiter. He asked me to accompany him. :eek: There was no way that account could be near the limit, but as we walked toward the cash register I started calculating if I had enough cash on hand, or a different credit card to offer, or would need an ATM.

It turns out, he just wanted me to WATCH him swipe the card and then hand it back. :) Simply a way to ensure the card never left my sight. Inconvenient, perhaps, but it does prevent cloning.

[chgocruiser]

ZacWolf had the best way to handle this, with a low limit card, these people get stopped in there tracks. The only other thing to do is get a Amex travel card, you get the same emergency card replacement and the best thing is it is not attached to your credit history in any way, so no way to open more accounts. If your cash gets swiped you are SOL. Safe travels out there!

[2112]

It doesn't even have to be an employee. Recently there have been warnings about taking a credit card out and holding it in you hand in plain view before making a purchase. People with camera phone have been taking pictures of people's credit cards in stores while they wait in line credit card in hand. Don't take your card out until the last minute and keep it covered. By the way I think credit card companies are being agressive in fighting credit card fraud, and I think that if they think they can catch someone they definately will go after them.