Credit card alert while cruising

[Vict0riann]

A friend got a new credit card, and bought tickets to a movie from a machine. Then he went and bought (tried to buy, actually) a pair of expensive running shoes, and the card was declined. That is apparently one pattern that triggers the fraud prevention activity ;) Use a new card for a low-value purchase from a kiosk, then once it is known to work, start buying expensive items.

 

I now use any new credit card at my vet's office first.

 

Haha! And the vet's bill is never going to be a low-value purchase!:)

[propwash]

Has anyone had a credit card fraud alert while you were cruising?

 

I checked my email while in Grand Turk and had two emails from Am Ex, telling me they had rejected two attempts to use my card to make a $700 purchase.

When I got to San Juan I called Am Ex and had them cancel the card.

 

I then went to the front desk on the ship, because that was the card I used for my account. I had to switch to another card, and they had to get approval for that for the $60/day hold (or whatever it is).

 

Although I didn't get any fraud notices, I did before we left call Amex and Master Card. Amex didn't care about my travel to the Caribbean and said they would monitor my travels. Barclays M/C did care and asked what dates and where I was traveling and when I would be back home.

My 2 cents worth.

Danny

[Oceanwench]

Oceanwench, could you please say more about the app you mentioned? It sounds like a very good thing to have. I would like to tell my DH about it!:)

 

I haven't gone looking for it yet. The Am Ex person told me to download it if I have a smartphone, and it would get fraud alerts immediately.

Still would not have been useful on the ship without a connection. But it would be handy to have otherwise.

 

Cow Princess, I see credit card fraud reports filed at police departments down here, and very often the person with the stolen number or card makes a small purchase first. Once that is approved, the person goes for a bigger purchase.

In my case though, no small purchase was made.

[Oceanwench]

Although I didn't get any fraud notices, I did before we left call Amex and Master Card. Amex didn't care about my travel to the Caribbean and said they would monitor my travels. Barclays M/C did care and asked what dates and where I was traveling and when I would be back home.

My 2 cents worth.

Danny

 

Yes, I got the same response from Am Ex in the past, so no longer notify them.

I have notified my Visa card company though.

I think that's more so they know it's not fraud if I buy something in Cozumel or San Juan.

 

I don't know if they look at the fact that you're out of the country, but someone just bought a bicycle in Omaha with your credit card number.

[Cruising-along]

Although I didn't get any fraud notices, I did before we left call Amex and Master Card. Amex didn't care about my travel to the Caribbean and said they would monitor my travels. Barclays M/C did care and asked what dates and where I was traveling and when I would be back home.

My 2 cents worth.

Danny

 

We're very happy with Barclays, but the first time we traveled after getting it, even after notifying them that we would be traveling, they put a hold on our card. :eek: It happened when we were driving through France. We had to use our credit card for a pay phone to call the hotel. Apparently it was enough to alert them for possible fraud use, and the next time I tried to use it at a gift shop it was denied. It took a whole evening to get it straightened out after calling them from the hotel.

 

We did find out later that they tried several times to reach us (learned our lesson and now we check our email often when traveling). It has never happened again, and luckily we always carry more than one credit card.

[peaches from georgia]

You just go to the App Store on your phone, put in American Express, install the AMEX app, sign in with your AMEX online username and password, and you immediately have access to your account, can pay bills on the phone, and fraud alerts are automatically sent onto your phone.

[ski ww]

We've been lucky so far. We seldom use our card off the ship, neither one of us are into shopping. We also notify our CC company when we travel, where to & for how long. I also don't check our emails while travelling. We take two different CC while travelling. On most excursions they both stay on the ship unless we think we might buy something, mostly we use cash on shore.

Allan & Marlane

[SilvertoGold]

The one time we had a problem with a credit card was a double billing (on a legitimate charge). Our credit card provider made us do all the work getting the second charge reversed. That is when we cancelled that card and switched providers.

 

This is a great thread, very educational, but a little frightening!

 

These examples demonstrate why I put a lot of credit on our shipboard account and then take cash. A lot easier! Of course, credit and debit cards just in case.

[CowPrincess]

We've been lucky so far. We seldom use our card off the ship, neither one of us are into shopping. We also notify our CC company when we travel, where to & for how long. I also don't check our emails while travelling. We take two different CC while travelling. On most excursions they both stay on the ship unless we think we might buy something, mostly we use cash on shore.

Allan & Marlane

 

bolding mine

 

We always take a credit card onshore, in case of emergency. I can't imagine being without one in the random chance that one of us got hurt, or somehow the ship sailed without us :eek:

[CowPrincess]

Haha! And the vet's bill is never going to be a low-value purchase!:)

 

You are so right :D

[sail7seas]

bolding mine

 

We always take a credit card onshore, in case of emergency. I can't imagine being without one in the random chance that one of us got hurt, or somehow the ship sailed without us :eek:

 

Absolutely. I'd never leave the ship without at least one credit card with me. I always leave the one we used for shipboard account in the safe.

 

[pris993]

We always alert our credit card companies when we are traveling and where... we don't have an international cell phone, so would not get immediate alerts but do generally use the internet a few times while traveling.

 

So far no alerts while travelling but we only use our credit cards for air and hotels,plus cruise ship charges. Use cash for anything else, so think that helps.

[serendipity1499]

My Am Ex number was obviously stolen before I left on my cruise, as the first attempt to use it occurred the day we sailed.

The first full day was a sea day, and I didn't have Internet, so I was unaware.

It was only when I used Wifi at Margaritaville and checked email that I saw the fraud alert.

 

When I visit ports and make purchases, I almost always use cash.

 

Card skimming at gas stations is epidemic in Florida, so I am guessing that is what happened. Time to pay for gas in cash![/QUOTE]

 

I bolded your last paragraph..

 

Our local Publix here in SW Fla from time to time has a coupon in the Publix brochures of our newspaper which permits us to purchase a $50 gas card for $40 if we purchase $50 worth of Groceries.. My grocery bill is usually about $100 so I purchase two Shell gas cards each time.. We only fill up our gas tank about once a month & use those gas cards which can't be skimmed... At this moment I have 12 of the $50 Shell gas cards.. Therefore, no need to pay cash for our gas.. Hope Publix continues this promotion..

[Hlitner]

We live in Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) in the winter...and I was "rudely" woken-up yesterday morning at 7:30 by a phone call from AMEX. Yes, my card had been compromised (even though I have not used it in nearly 2 months) and they wanted to go over a few charges (several fraudulent). They immediately voided the card and mailed out a replacement. These things happen all too often (we have had 2 different credit cards and one ATM compromised within the past year) which is why frequent (or any) traveler is well-advised to carry several different credit cards and at least 2 ATM cards (drawn on different bank accounts).

 

Hank

[Jalex63]

I am sure that with the growth of the internet and on-line purchases things have probably changed a bit since I worked in the CC industry several years back. Probably the largest potential problem in carrying only one card is with the issue of fraud being detected and the card subsequently being cancelled. This would not be good, especially if you are on a long voyage.

 

However, with the above stated, you really do not need to be too concerned about being held responsible for fraudulent purchases made against your card. The CC industry is well acquainted with this problem and since ALL transactions over a certain dollar amount require that the retailer ask for additional personal identification, which is seldom done, all fraudulent charges made against a CC are merely charged back to the retailer. Your bank does not usually take the loss. Of course, just like shoplifting, this increases the cost of doing business and we all end up paying for it.

 

My personal experience in this matter involved the use of an AMEX card in St Martin several years ago where when I went to make a fairly large purchase on the card at a Jewelry store. I was asked by the clerk to step over to the phone as when they attempted approval of the purchase AMEX asked to speak with me. Of course my initial concern was, are they going to reject my ability to make this purchase? What I discovered was the opposite, they were very pleasant and merely asked me to answer one of the security questions that had originally been set up on the account. My correct answer brought instant approval and that is the one and only time I have ever had that happen, anywhere, with any card.

[take us away]

We do carry a CC on shore in some ports in the event there is an emergency but it has a low limit and is very rarely used as prefer cash so no hassles, no worry. We also learned the hard way many years ago to always tell our CC's where we will be and when as had a card declined. It was for the ship's charges - very embarrassing. Thankfully there was a very nice purser who allowed us to call our CC company from his office and straighten it out.

 

btw - our nephew is into cyber security and has recommended we NOT check our accounts while in ports as the wifi (especially close to the ports) may not be as secure as we think it is.

Edited February 8, 2015 by take us away

[wesport]

I had it happen the night before a 17 day Hawaiian cruise on the veendam. Just called chase from the front desk of the ship. they authorized any HAL charges to go through. Wasn't really a problem.

[Oceanwench]

My Am Ex number was obviously stolen before I left on my cruise, as the first attempt to use it occurred the day we sailed.

The first full day was a sea day, and I didn't have Internet, so I was unaware.

It was only when I used Wifi at Margaritaville and checked email that I saw the fraud alert.

 

When I visit ports and make purchases, I almost always use cash.

 

Card skimming at gas stations is epidemic in Florida, so I am guessing that is what happened. Time to pay for gas in cash![/QUOTE]

 

I bolded your last paragraph..

 

Our local Publix here in SW Fla from time to time has a coupon in the Publix brochures of our newspaper which permits us to purchase a $50 gas card for $40 if we purchase $50 worth of Groceries.. My grocery bill is usually about $100 so I purchase two Shell gas cards each time.. We only fill up our gas tank about once a month & use those gas cards which can't be skimmed... At this moment I have 12 of the $50 Shell gas cards.. Therefore, no need to pay cash for our gas.. Hope Publix continues this promotion..

 

 

Betty, I have thought about doing that. Maybe it's a good time to start. Eliminates one possibility of credit card skimming.

In Boca Raton recently a device to record credit card numbers was found inside the pump itself, so could not be detected at all.

[xlxo]

btw - our nephew is into cyber security and has recommended we NOT check our accounts while in ports as the wifi (especially close to the ports) may not be as secure as we think it is.

This is very true of ALL public wifi (restaurants, coffee shops, malls, especially outside of North America) and ALL wifi activities that use a password like looking at your emails.

 

When away from home, I use a VPN to create an encrypted my activities from data eavesdropping. $50 for 5 devices is a great security bargain for a year...

• 
  
• 
  

[Cruising-along]

We do carry a CC on shore in some ports in the event there is an emergency but it has a low limit and is very rarely used as prefer cash so no hassles, no worry. We also learned the hard way many years ago to always tell our CC's where we will be and when as had a card declined. It was for the ship's charges - very embarrassing. Thankfully there was a very nice purser who allowed us to call our CC company from his office and straighten it out.

 

btw - our nephew is into cyber security and has recommended we NOT check our accounts while in ports as the wifi (especially close to the ports) may not be as secure as we think it is.

 

Exactly. I never check financial accounts when using public WIFI.

[babs135]

Never had it happen on a cruise, but did on a land holiday in Australia. Although we had told our credit card firm that we would be travelling around the country they stopped our card when we went to pay for our evening meal in Margaret River!! Could have been embarrassing, but we were staying in the hotel which had been pre-paid and we did have another card with us so we could pay the bill.

 

Went back to the room, phoned the credit card company who explained that as we had been in Uluru at breakfast and Margaret River later the same day they were a little concerned and had, therefore, stopped the card.

 

Moral of the story is always travel with another credit card.

[AlFrank]

Has anyone had a credit card fraud alert while you were cruising?

 

I checked my email while in Grand Turk and had two emails from Am Ex, telling me they had rejected two attempts to use my card to make a $700 purchase.

When I got to San Juan I called Am Ex and had them cancel the card.

 

I then went to the front desk on the ship, because that was the card I used for my account. I had to switch to another card, and they had to get approval for that for the $60/day hold (or whatever it is).

We had that happen last year. Citibank called our home but of course we were away. When we tried to use it, it was denied. Called when we returned to the hotel. After speaking with an agent at the bank we were able to trace it. The name on the false charges was my husband. Usually we use my card but this time for some reason we used his. So we knew without a doubt that the card number was stolen at the Dollar Car Rental.

[serendipity1499]

 

 

Betty, I have thought about doing that. Maybe it's a good time to start. Eliminates one possibility of credit card skimming.

In Boca Raton recently a device to record credit card numbers was found inside the pump itself, so could not be detected at all.

 

That's what's been happening over here in the Ft.Myers/Cape Coral area.. You can't even detect changes in the pump slots but they have been seen installing them on camera's..

 

Exactly. I never check financial accounts when using public WIFI.

I always check our accounts while on the ship at sea, but not in ports.. I have to do this only when we are on a long cruise.. Does anyone know if using the ship's Internet is safe enough?

Edited February 8, 2015 by serendipity1499

[Cruising-along]

 

That's what's been happening over here in the Ft.Myers/Cape Coral area.. You can't even detect changes in the pump slots but they have been seen installing them on camera's..

 

 

I always check our accounts while on the ship at sea, but not in ports.. I have to do this only when we are on a long cruise.. Does anyone know if using the ship's Internet is safe enough?

 

I would like to know too. We do check accounts when at sea, and also in hotels with our laptop.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Cruising-along

[Oceanwench]

I don't check credit card accounts in port, but I do check email. That's where I got the alert.