Credit Card Compromised

1. Sure. You call the credit card company (or they call you) and it's over except for signing a form saying that X charges were not yours.

2. The old one is dead.

Thanks Ed. What I'm interested in finding out is how prevalent is theft of credit card information in Italy? Or is it?

No idea. I've never had a problem there, have had other places - - all of which means nothing.

But IF you used the old card to, for example, order some European train tickets online, you will need the old card, even though cancelled, for validation purposes with your ticket. Make sure you read the instructions from the site you order from.

I can't speak for Italy. But I have two cards, at two different banks, compromised this summer. In both cases, the had been used at large merchants (Albertson's, Home Depot) whose Point-of-Sales machines had been hacked chain-wide. And a few months later the cloned card was sold to someone and put in use. I was not liable for any of the fraudulent charges. There's a lot of info available on this online, just Google Albertson's or Home Depot credit card hack.

I don't think credit card number theft in Europe is more of a problem than here. We have had two cards compromised over the years - both in the US. Of course, the simple solution that we use is --- (drum roll)........ CASH !!!! If you use cash, we do about 95% of the time, then you never have to worry about your credit card. European wait staff is more careful in the handling of your card than here. It is very rare for them to take a card and disappear in the back for a while. Most have a card reader right at the table.

Yes, this has happened to me, but it happened in the U.S. Like many people, I discovered it when I got my statement and it had fraudulent charges. I reported it to the company, they sent a new card, investigated, and I did not have to pay.

I'm not really sure what your question is though.

Twice my credit card company (Capital One) called mr after I was back home for a while. Someone was trying to make a purchase in Europe. I had told them in advance of my travel plans, so they questioned the attempted purchases. In both cases I had used my card at British hotels. I now pay with cash most of the time.

Every time, every time, I've been to Spain my credit card info has been stolen, and cards had to be cancelled. Not going to Spain again. I'm Very Careful with my credit card and receipts. Never happenned in Italy.

Be careful with your card, and keep a phone # for your bank/cc company in a separate place just in case of emergency.
No need to panic. I use my card(s) all the time in Italy and have never had a problem. Only use cash inpizzerias and inexpensive restaurants.

Let your credit card co know that you'll be in Italy and the dates you'll be there, and if you're only going to be in Italy, make sure tey know that.

I paid no fees for the fraudulant use of my card.

I've never had any trouble with my cards in Italy.

A few years ago we did have a problem with one card, in my home village in England. The owner of a Shell station had set up cameras to catch information off cards and most people in the village had charges appear within a two week period. The police caught him and shut him down. It didn't cost me anything - in fact the first I knew of it was when the police called me.

What I see in the answers here is that in the vast majority of problems are at home not in Italy.

Card present fraud is far more common in the USA than Europe, because of the lack of effective security measures (mag stripe cards, don't look at signatures at all or only cursory). Indeed a bit more than half the world's card present fraud is in the USA. If your details are lifted in Europe, they will probably get used in the USA.

Agree with Marco. Even small restaurants in Europe have wireless credit card terminals so that the card is never out of your sight. You can even enter a PIN (if needed for the transaction, that is) at the table. But it "wasn't invented here", so it must be no good! Also, the retailers don't want to pay for the equipment. Blessedly, Target and Home Depot now can't afford NOT to install chip-and-PIN

I know that some of my card compromised events were while the card was out of my sight. In the very old days, I even got a paper receipt (bill enclosure) with a fake signature, done in the back room of a diner near JFK airport. I can't wait for chip-and-PIN.

We should have had chip and pin in the US quite some time ago. I have a very cynical take on why we don't, and why we may never have it.

The banks have said that the equipment conversion will be too costly. I do';t think they care about the individual readers for the merchants, which would be on them and can't be that much. ATMs, now that's another story. The banks and networks would have to outfit all the ATMs in the country with the ability to process chip and pin, and that would be costly to them. Do they HAVE to outfit the ATMs with this? After all, it's credit cards we are talking about, not bank account cards. I do not believe the banks wish for even one minute to give up on the ability of the public to use their credit cards in ATMs for cash advances, on which they collect, from the moment money is withdrawn, interest at rates that would have been declared as usury in the past. This is too much income for them to cede. After all, the fraud losses are covered by someone's insurance.

Just wondering how cautious one needs to be with the old card.

How cautious can you be? Either you use your card or you don't. Like the others here, all of my card compromises have occurred right here in the US.

Sure it is a pain to have your card compromised, but you are legally only on the hook for $50 and that almost never happens. You'll just get a new card in a few days and have to re-enter account information on automatic renewals or bill payments. If you have a second credit card, be sure to bring it with you and keep it in reserve as a backup just in case. And have your fraud number handy, but almost always they contact you as their computers detect fraud long before you ever will. And most definitely let your banks and card issuers know of your travel plans so they (hopefully) don't block your legitimate charges.

Great feedback everyone....Thank you all for taking the time to respond!!!

I was pickpocketed in Rome on the Metro. I cancelled my cards very quickly, which was easier since I had emailed myself scans of the cards front and back. No bad charges or losses - just the obvious lesson about having a wallet in your pocket in Rome. The CC companies accept collect calls from overseas and Amex even has a local number in Italy.
Being cautious is always a good idea, and using cash works very well instead of giving your card to people in restaurants.

And tiwisner should have added, "Never carry your credit card in your wallet in your pocket."

Yes and no. Never had any problems with any types of charges in Italy except on a joint American/Italian military base. I had two or three instances over two years where I had fraudulent charges appear on my card within a couple of days of making charges at the PX and all the transactions were run through New York I believe. All of the fraud had stateside address's also. Used my card all over Italy (outside of bases) and Greece and never had a prob.

It is very difficult to know when and where your card was compromised. It is tempting to say that it was compromise the last time it was used. However, it is my understanding that a stolen number will often not be used for a month or more just to make it difficult to id the point that the number was taken. The last time our number was compromised the card was used at a Whole Foods in Denver. Fifteen minutes later an attempt was made at a Starbucks in New Orleans to use the card number. Obviously, a simple task for the fraud computer. According to the fraud center it was coincidence that the card was used after using it at Whole Foods. Often the crook needs time to take the number and make a fake card. So it is hard to pin point when a number is taken.

Yes, it has happened to us twice, once at London Heathrow and once in Itay. Contact your financial institution immediately, they will have you fax a signed statement that the charges are not yours and shut off your card. Make sure you have an additional card to use for the duration of your trip.

For us, a call was sufficient. We never had to sign a faxed statement concerning the card.

We have no reason to believe, from our personal travels or traveler reports, that credit card fraud is any more common in Europe than in the USA. My card issuers are so vigilant that I can barely make a purchase myself without having to confirm it was me, especially if buying a train or plane ticket from a European web site. In case of losing your physical cards, see http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/theft-scams/losing-it-all.