Miami Equinox possible skimming theft of CC info during check-in

[Accessor]

I can completely agree this happens all the time and all over the place....but what I am trying to find out if this was random or do we have others that recently cruised from MIA that also were skimmed? If we have more, than maybe we can get someone's attention at the terminal. If not, I'll let it go and move along, but will be much more cautious when I watch them with my card next cruise at ANY terminal.

 

Hopefully it's an isolated incident. But did post in the roll call to see if anyone else my cruise had the same issue.

[eandj]

I can completely agree this happens all the time and all over the place....but what I am trying to find out if this was random or do we have others that recently cruised from MIA that also were skimmed? If we have more, than maybe we can get someone's attention at the terminal. If not, I'll let it go and move along, but will be much more cautious when I watch them with my card next cruise at ANY terminal.

 

Hopefully it's an isolated incident. But did post in the roll call to see if anyone else my cruise had the same issue.

 

 

Thank you for sharing your story here. If you hear/read of others on your roll call having the same issue, be sure to come back here to update.

Unfortunately only a small % of cruisers use Cruise Critic.

[Jim_Iain]

Great thread and always interested in finding out about possible skimming.

 

I had my CC compromised a couple times but finally found the best solution for me was to set up alerts with text for any charge over $5.00 and any international charges. . It is amazing when I get a beep within a second of using my card.

 

While it won't prevent a card being compromised it sure helpful to know almost instantly when it has been compromised.

[Hernando Cruisers]

Just curious if anyone else that cruised on the Equinox on 8/20 (or other dates) out of Miami had their credit card skimmed/stolen just after returning home?

We checked in 8/20 at MIA cruise terminal and remember a very nervous female agent assisting us. On the last day of the cruise, they called our room and asked us to come to the guest relations desk b/c they didn't have our CC on file...which we found very odd (never occurred before 50+ cruises). We both remember the card getting swiped during embarkation. Why didn't they have it? No biggie we thought. Gave them my card instead.

 

We get home, and immediately get 3-4 fraud alerts on wife's card that was scanned in MIA cruise terminal. The card was not used the entire week, and kept in the safe. So they cancel the credit card, and I decide to backtrack our usage and steps of where it most likely occurred.

 

I am very concerned that IF this occurred during check-in at the port, they also had our full passport info...not very reassuring. So I called the port of MIA, they tell me to call MIA PD to file a report. MIA PD declines to file one since a crime didn't actually occur....:eek:

 

I call Celebrity, spoke to a very nice concerned agent. They also said call MIA PD. She stated she would send a note internally to security to review complaint.

 

With all the cameras in that building, how hard would it be to review the footage for us? Well, apparently MIA port authority is not interested in pax safely...just passing the buck. They refused to look into the complaint.

 

IF ANYONE else on the forum had this happen recently sailing from MIA on the Equinox or other ship can chime we can maybe solve the mystery? If we have a group of victims, maybe we can get somebody's attention to actually check into a potential ongoing problem for other cruisers sailing from MIA. :mad:

 

Once again, I am only trying to find out if anyone else had this happen to them recently cruising from Miami cruise terminal. Some other possibilities exist, but we are starting with the strongest one first.

 

Thank you

Mark & Tracy

 

Sorry for the issues you are having. We were on that cruise, presented our cc for swiping at check in, and had no problems . As others have said, charges popped up when we booked a future cruise along with the final bill on the last day.

 

If you do find it necessary to make an official police report after discovering misuse of your card, be sure to contact the correct police department. While the Port of Miami is located within the City of Miami, it is owned operated by Miami-Dade County. Law enforcement services on the Port, as well as vast unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County are provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department. They are the sheriffs department in the county and a significantly larger department than the Miami Police Department. It can get confusing for visitors, but they are the correct law enforcement agency for any crimes occurring at the Port of Miami.

 

Hope this helps.

[NLH Arizona]

Sorry if this has been asked, I didn't go through the entire thread. Were the fraudulent charges made in Miami? I had my card number stolen and got a call from my bank asking if I just purchased train tickets in Sweden or made a $2 charge at a game shop in Chicago. They explained that the person doesn't have to have your card or they don't have to skim it, they just pick random numbers and then try to make a small purchase (the $2 game shop charge) usually on line and if it goes through they will give or sell the number to others (train tickets in Sweden).

[bebe08]

We were on the Equinox in April 2017 cruising out of FLL and experienced credit card fraud on the card we were using to pay our account. Half way into our cruise when hubby went to get a drink with his sea pass, he was told there was a problem with the card and to go to guest relations. Guest relations asked us to call AMEX as there was an issue with our card. We called AMEX and our card had been used a few days before in Europe!! I had gone online before our trip to let AMEX know we were in the Caribbean.

My card had to be cancelled on the spot but fortunately we were able to use hubby's card until we got home and got them both replaced.

This was my third experience with credit card fraud...the other 2 were not while travelling, although one was a few days before we were leaving on a trip. :mad:

[caribill]

Another note on the police reports....Our investment account was hacked about a year ago. We got emails telling us our password, address & phone number had been changed about half an hour after we had accessed the account online.

 

Where were you when you accessed your account online?

 

o At home?

o In a public setting?

o On the cruise ship?

o Other?

[caribill]

Also, don't forget to alert your credit card companies that you are traveling out of the country.

 

a) A couple of years ago I did notify them, but still had a hold put on the card after a legitimate charge in a country I told them we would be in. A good reason to have Internet access on a cruise so you can learn your card is no longer usable until you contact the bank.

 

b) Then last year I called to notify them and was told that is no longer necessary when using the card with a chip. That did not stop them from again instantly freezing the account when I made a legitimate charge on the trip. Based on the time of the message from the bank in their e-mail it was within a couple of seconds of making the charge. Again, having Internet access on the ship was important so I could verify the purchase and get my card reactivated.

 

 

c) Last month while at home I made a charge for about $40 to reserve a tour in a foreign country. Immediately I received an e-mail notifying me that my card had been frozen unless I could verify the charge was legitimate.

[Fred&Lily]

I believe that using chip + PIN credit cards is the solution. I won't use a cc in any business that doesn't have a chip reader. Europe and Canada seem to be ahead of the US in changing over to chip enabled cards. When I do travel in the US and Caribbean I carry quite a lot of cash and cover the big items - hotels, flights and cruise by pre-paying.

[chisoxfan]

We use our X card for any cruise and we don't use it for anything else (we have other cards that give us much better perks for day-to-day purchases), so it would be obvious if that card was compromised it was whoever checked us in.

That being said, we stayed at a Hilton in New Orleans a few years ago before leaving on a cruise. The man at check in was very nice and asked about what our plans were while we were in town. I said we were leaving on a cruise the next day, he of course gushed about how cool that was, yada yada. We found out later that while he was checking us in and most of the others staying there that weekend, he was skimming everyone's cards. He had already put in his notice and it was his last week on the job! He waited until we were on the ship for a couple of days and then went to town having a spending spree on our card. We found out once we got back, I found out the other info upon speaking to the credit card company. They saw the fraudulent charges from people all over the country, but quickly realized the one thing we all had in common was the charge for the same Hilton. We have had other cards compromised throughout the years, none of them seem to go after the ones who take your info, they just issue new cards and call it a day.

 

We had an AMEX compromised at a cruise port after a purchase at a popular chain jeweler. We were certain of where it happened as the culprit tried to buy tickets to South America from this port (Aruba). I found out initially from a cryptic evening phone call from a TA. I thought they were trying to scam me initially but apparently they were suspicious of the ticket purchaser and they outlined all of our info (it could have only been from this purchase) and recommended we call AMEX. When we did we found several unauthorized purchases (several air tickets).

The point of my post and agreement with ABC Cruisers and others is that there appears to be no serious interest in pursuing the "small" time criminals. Seems like the CC companies simply eat the loss, issue a new card, and move on. In our case the chain of the stolen card appeared very clear. Perhaps the fraud would be minimized if there was a more active move to prosecute?

[ABC Cruisers]

The point of my post and agreement with ABC Cruisers and others is that there appears to be no serious interest in pursuing the "small" time criminals. Seems like the CC companies simply eat the loss, issue a new card, and move on. In our case the chain of the stolen card appeared very clear. Perhaps the fraud would be minimized if there was a more active move to prosecute?

When you figure in how many millions, if not billions of dollars every year that these crooks cost the cc companies, I don't understand why they don't go after them. If there were consequences maybe some of this would stop, but right now, they know the banks truly don't even care

[ChucktownSteve]

When you figure in how many millions, if not billions of dollars every year that these crooks cost the cc companies, I don't understand why they don't go after them. If there were consequences maybe some of this would stop, but right now, they know the banks truly don't even care

 

It's strictly a business decision. It would be more expensive to go after some of those small criminals than it is to write off the business and raise their fees so all CC holders reimburse them. They do go after the big boys I suspect.

[Alakegirl]

It seems to me that it shouldnt be that hard to trace back which check-in agent took care of you. They dont work for Celebrity, they work for the port/terminal and there ought to be a paper trail there. If the port isnt willing to pursue it, you are probably out of luck. It will remind us all to make note of our check-in agent's name on upcoming cruises.

[caribill]

Credit card issuers cannot prosecute a crime such as theft by credit card. The police have to prosecute.

 

All a credit card company can do is present information to the police.

 

With the high number of credit card fraud charges, police would not have the resources to prosecute almost all of them.

 

In addition, much of the credit card fraud with American issued credit cards occurs overseas where the commitment to prosecute a case (assuming the crooks could be found) is also minimal.

 

I had a card compromised once with three large charges for groceries in Indonesia even though I (and the card) was at home in the USA. I suspect the cost of tracking down the crooks and convincing Indonesian authorities to prosecute them and the cost to the credit card company of any trial would far exceed the loss for those three charges.

 

Another time a card I used in a small Canadian port was used the next day for movie tickets and a meal in a large Canadian city. Total charges were less than $50. How much effort do you think the credit card company and Canadian authorities would have to spend to go after this theft of less than $50?

 

60 Minutes once did a story about the use of stolen credit card numbers. They posted a credit card number on an overseas Internet web site that is devoted to selling credit card numbers. Within five minutes the card was being used to make charges in countries all over the world. Shutting down the card is easy. Tracking down dozens of crooks who used that number to commit fraud is not.

[caribill]

They explained that the person doesn't have to have your card or they don't have to skim it, they just pick random numbers and then try to make a small purchase usually on line and if it goes through they will give or sell the number to others.

 

Can't be just any random numbers. There is a formula to determine if a credit card number is a possible legitimate number or not. Of course the crooks know this formula and can put together possible legitimate numbers.

 

As an example, 5034 6723 8192 4816 cannot possibly be a credit card number.

 

5034 6723 8092 4816 could be a valid credit card number.

5034 6723 8091 9816 could also be a valid credit card number.

 

 

I once had a card compromised with a charge from a middle East country. I had not used the card in several years, so there was no way it had been copied or skimmed. So it probably was a case of a crook checking possible valid numbers and coming up with this one.

[Accessor]

The system is broken that's for sure. Nobody wants to get involved and the criminals know this. The EASY fix would be like others have mentioned is update the CC terminals with chip readers. Not hard to do..it's nearly standard in Europe. Just wonder why they have all of these cameras in the terminals if nobody is watching them or will review something brought to their attention.

 

Beyond why scan a card when we setup the CC info online BEFORE the cruise? Seems to be redundant and would eliminate anyone skimming it at the terminal. Should be easy to implement a few changes to better safeguard everyone's data and credit cards.

[kendon]

Same happened to me, they hacked my business credit card. I reported it to the credit card company and had zero liability. The police would not file a report since we didn't lose any money.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

Wow. Regardless of any loss or not, a crime was still committed. Makes no sense.

[hcat]

It seems to me that it shouldnt be that hard to trace back which check-in agent took care of you. They dont work for Celebrity, they work for the port/terminal and there ought to be a paper trail there. If the port isnt willing to pursue it, you are probably out of luck. It will remind us all to make note of our check-in agent's name on upcoming cruises.

 

I did not know the check in folks were not X employees. Good advice to get the name. We recently were checked in at Port Everglades by a trainee. She was very slow, not trained and poorly supervised, clueless.

 

We received a cash bill the night before the cruise ended. When we checked on it, we learned she never applied our Credit Card properly on the acct. If we had not fixed it ahead of time, we would have not been allowed to disembark without a visit to the bursar to pay..surprise! We now check that all is well after boarding.

 

 

we travel with back up cards in case card we are using gets frozen...

[floridatravelersforlife]

Wow. Regardless of any loss or not, a crime was still committed. Makes no sense.

 

Makes sense to me. Miami PD is fighting murders, drug use and crime, gang wars, etc There are no resources available. And now we have middle class opioid abuse and overdoses. This is nationwide.

 

I consider myself on my own. I'm going cash payment until I get on board. And with a limited credit card.

[phoenix_dream]

It's also strange to me that they did not call you until the last day. They do not wait until the last day to bill credit cards - they do it intermittently during the cruise. That's how we found out one of ours was hacked - mid-way through the cruise they called us down as our credit card company was refusing to accept the charge (that was before good internet on cruises so we had no way to know they had put a hold on our card due to suspicious activity). Sounds like at best a bunch of mix-ups, at worst perhaps a crime.

 

 

I have never had my card charged through the cruise unless I used it to book a future cruise.

 

 

If there is anything Celebrity is consistent about it is it's inconsistency. They definitely were charging ours mid-cruise, which is how we found this out. They told us they often send charges through mid-cruise. Maybe it varies by ship and is at the whim of whoever is running that department onboard. This was also quite a few years ago so perhaps things have changed.

[phoenix_dream]

Makes sense to me. Miami PD is fighting murders, drug use and crime, gang wars, etc There are no resources available. And now we have middle class opioid abuse and overdoses. This is nationwide.

 

I consider myself on my own. I'm going cash payment until I get on board. And with a limited credit card.

 

In our situation, the card was being used (or should I say was attempting to be used) in another state, so it constituted a federal charge so local government did not need to be involved. I would suspect this is true in many cases.

[phoenix_dream]

I didn't go back and re-read the whole thread so apologies if this is a repeat.

 

This might be a good time to remind everyone that it is always a good idea to take more than one credit card with you when traveling, particularly at sea. When our card was hacked mid-cruise, thank goodness my son had his credit card with him which we were able to use when our card was put on hold due to suspicious activity. It would have been impossible for the credit card company to overnight us a new card when we were at sea! For onboard charges I'm sure they could have assigned a new number, but it would have left us without a credit card for any port purchases or post-cruise charges.

[Husky61]

Wow. Regardless of any loss or not, a crime was still committed. Makes no sense.

 

The credit card company will file the report with the local LE agency since they suffered the loss and are the victim.

[Newbie545]

Haven't seen it mentioned but please people: Use the number on your card to call the company back NOT the number given on the alert message - We've received many "fraud alert" calls that were actually scams themselves an our cards were actually never used by anyone other than ourselves.

[bigbenboys]

Question, as we are on the next Equinox sailing on 9/4. I have already placed our card on file with Celebrity when we did online check in. Do they still have to take a credit card swipe at the terminal when we get our SeaPass? Sorry to hear about your fraud issues. It's a frustrating experience. I hope it wasn't the port employee.

 

Your online check in only ask for the last 4 digits of your CC number. Why I'm not sure, the last 4 digits does nothing for Celebrity.