My husband & I just returned home from a wonderful trip to Italy! However, we have also discovered that we appear to have been the victims of bank fraud. We had contacted our bank beforehand to let us know the dates & cities we would be in. However, we have had almost $2,000 in additional charges taken from our account over the course of several days & these appear to have taken place in Romania. Our claim is being processed & cards canceled, however, I just wanted to ask if this has happened to anyone else recently? We did not give out our PIN to anyone & kept all receipts on us as well as our debit card on us at all times. All we can imagine is that a scamming device was installed on one of the machines we used. We felt we had done everything we could, including checking each machine we used to make sure it all felt secure as well as covering our hand as we entered our PIN #'s. Our bank has also since informed us that we probably could have gone inside the bank to take withdrawals (which I was not aware we could, being that we are taking international withdrawals), but just wanted to inform others that you may ant to ask your bank these specific questions before you leave! It's a really scary & upsetting thing to have happen after such a fantastic trip. I hope this doesn't happen to any one of you!!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
That is scary. There was a posting six months or so about about someone who had attempted to use a stand alone machine in a heavy tourist area but it would not work. Later he learned that his debit card was scammed. That is general a clue -- did you even have an ATM that did not work after you put your card in? Also, there was a big scam in the New York area a few years ago where stand alone ATMs in 7/11s, fast food places, etc. were rigged to capture the card info at the same giving cash and appearing to operate normally. Assume that could happen in Europe also.
For the above reasons we always used ATMs attached to banks during open hours and absolutely avoid the stand alone terminals.
I don't think it is a frequent occurance but if it is you then it is a big problem. Better luck next time.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
My husband and I are almost neurotic when it comes to debit card safety. We use machines attached to banks, we put our hands over the number as we put in our pin, etc. However, 2 weeks ago we were contacted that we also were victims of fraud-$500 from someone using our number in Canada. The funny thing is, it is a debit card I got specifically for our trip last year to Europe. We used it on that trip, emptied the account of money when we returned and never used it again. Also, I had read about the experience mentioned above, so I went and changed my pin on the debit account I use all the time just in case (we had our card rejected in Venice just like the person who had trouble) I didn't change my pin number on the second account. I had no money in there so there was nothing to steal. Imagine my surprise when the bank "put money in the account" to cover the withdrawals. (automatic courtesy for overdrafts) I was lucky that the fact the card is never used triggered a fraud alert quickly and they put a hold on the card within 2 hours...the person still got $500. I did some research, and I can not be held responsible for more than $50 and I am pretty sure my bank won't even make me pay that. Still getting it resolved. This web site helped me with information:
http://www.debitfacts.org/Truth-About-Debit/Debit-Card-Liability/
Know your rights...my bank didn't tell me I wasn't responsible (they made it sound like they would have to see if they could get the money back from the merchants who accepted the card) BTW...the machine where my card was rejected was attached to a bank. Scammers can put the thing that swipes your number on any machine. Of course, I don't know for sure how my number was accessed.
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
893 posts
I'm curious, to Addie and Connie, were the extra charges to your card cash withdrawals, or merchant charges? The reason I asked is that 2 years ago, we had trouble with an ATM card in Venice, didn't know about the scams, but were never victimized.
A friend of mine, here in Denver, told me about their card having fraudulent charges on it recently. Almost $2,000 and the charges were in Eastern Europe and England. Thing is, they haven't been out of the country for 10 years. Her husband travels on business a lot, all in the continental US, so they still don't know what happened. I'm wondering if it was the ATM or something else that happened to your card. Does your bank have any idea? Good luck with the recovery.
Posted by
Hendersonvlle, NC
486 posts
Foolish people use debit cards for merchant transactions.
Smart people tell their bank to disable the debit card capability of an ATM card or ask for an ATM-only card. Then they use their credit card instead of a debit card.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
In my case, the bank has no idea what happened. When I mentioned I had not even used the card since last October, they did say that "the bad guys" can hold onto your number a long time before using it. Also,you don't have to be in Europe to have this happen. Within the last year there was a story of how someone put one of the machines on a gas station pump and skimmed the numbers. They held onto the numbers for months until a 3 day week end and then used them (less likely to get caught immediately on a 3 day week end) In my case, the thieves used the number 4 times at a Safeway and once at a place I have never heard of. I think what makes my case interesting is that I only used that card on that one trip and I still have the card in my possession. It seems likely that the number was stolen while I was in Europe and given the other travelers story a few months ago...probably Venice. (his card had been used and he knew it was in Venice. When he described what happened, it matched something that had happened to me..card came out, something flashed on the screen in Italian with the only word I was able to quickly recognize being "internationale".) I contacted him for more info and he advised me to change my pin...which I did on the account I actually use. It is disheartening, but it can happen anywhere and I don't have any bad feelings towards traveling. I am already a little paranoid about this kind of thing (I check my Credit card balance every couple of days, etc) so I am not sure what else I can do. I will continue to be careful and check ATM machines very carefully I guess.