Protect Your Credit & Debit Numbers In Key West

[cruzinfewlz]

a word of advice about key west. do not use your credit or debit cards!!

especially where someone can get the "secret" code off the back.

we have been twice in the past 3 years and BOTH times our debit card number has been stolen. on the new cards i have scratched the code off the back and recorded them elsewhere.

 

first time the charge was denied because it came from italy, but this time they got us for $1700 (internet airline tickets) after we used it there this past may, took 12 days to get it back. from now on, we use cash or a low limit prepaid card.

 

we have been told by a former KW resident that this is a big scam on duval st.

[bouhunter]

We've been using credit cards all over Key West twice a year for the past 7 years without issue and will continue to do so.

 

Debit cards aren't a good idea in general. Much harder to solve fraud problems with them than credit cards.

[bhopal21]

I have used them everyday for at least 17 years with no problem whatsoever.

 

I will say that I do not go into those tee shirt shops on lower Duval as well.

 

Did you have your pin code written on your debit card?:confused:

 

Mike:)

[SAILSKAT]

Unfortunatly this can happen anywhere, even at home. Mine was stolen this spring at a local resturant. The police said that the numbers were used by someone in Texas (we're in Connecticut). There were several charges over a period of two weeks on our debit card. We were very lucky they were not huge amounts (just a couple of hundred dollars) because we were in Europe at the time and we could have had our checking account wiped out. The bank did restore the balance and the investigation is on-going. The FBI website has a tip sheet with suggestions to make sure you don't loose sight of your card (which is how they get the code) and insist on using it as debit with your pin number. Credit Cards are safer because it's just a charge and not your actual checking account balance.

 

So sorry to hear it happened to you. I assume the theif was targeting cruiseship passengers who couldn't check their balances for next 7 days. (Well at least they used it for plane tickets, how dumb is that, they have to have their name on the tickets that matches their identification in order to use them.)

[Knights on the Beach]

We also had this happen to us last year with our Visa debit card, but I have no way of knowing where our number was stolen. Visa and our credit union called my husband at work one day (several days after we returned from spending six nights in KW) to ask if he was making purchases in Mexico! A couple small amounts had gone through, but when someone tried to buy a couple hundred dollars worth of shoes, Visa denied the charge and called us. We had to fill out a fraud report and our credit union refunded the money back into our account as soon as they hit. One point I want to make is that Visa caught this several days before the charges even appeared on our online statement. If they hadn't been so diligent, our account could have been wiped out before we could even see the charges.

 

Like I said, I have no way of knowing WHERE this happened -- it could have been in Key West or it could have been somewhere in Orlando where we live. I NEVER use our debit card when ordering anything online, only a credit card that is not connected to our bank accounts. We didn't buy anything with our debit card at any of the shops on Duval, but used it frequently at restaurants and bars, both on and off Duval.

 

We'll be back for several days in October, and I haven't decided yet what to do for spending money. I hate to be so suspicious, but I will defintely use cash anywhere I have the slightest uncomfortable feeling. (As I would also do in my hometown.) I have a few hundred dollars in travelers checks left over from our cruise earlier this month, but I'm hearing that several places in Key West won't take them due to some counterfeit check problems they had there.

[Knights on the Beach]

Did you have your pin code written on your debit card?:confused:

I think the OP was referring to the three or four digit "security" code on the back of the card that you often need to use when ordering something over the phone or online.

[sunandsalt]

Maybe I'm "old school" (or just plain old!), but I've never seen the advantage of using a debit card over a credit card. The money never leaves my bank account until I write a check to the card company. No liability as long as I check my statements, never a day without my funds, waiting for the bank to agree to replace stolen funds.

[sealovers]

I will use cash only when touring Key West. I always check B.B.B history of US companies prior to purchasing anything on line or by phone and at home I only deal with reputable retailers. In tourist areas, unscrupulous merchants constantly change the store/company name, to avoid access to their criminal history. So a BBB check is basically worthless. I believe carefully guarded cash is best to use in areas such as this. Some of the most reputable businesses can end up with a wayward employee who passes on your CC number for money, drugs, etc. , leaving a trail of chaos for those customers affected (who are probabaly 1,000 miles away when the trick is discovered). Of course this can happen anywhere, but I have read many threads and articles referring to this problem in Key West. The convenience of using a charge/debit card is not worth the hassle of clearing the unauthorized charges. I plan to play it safe and use cash only.

[rebeljohn]

We are taking a land trip to Key West next month, and plan to use cash at the bars there. We have already paid for our stay with a credit card.

We had one of our credit card numbers stolen for the first time a few months ago.................and guess where the charge was from..........KEY WEST.............and we hadn't even been there!!!!

[Aquahound]

Beware the Garden of Eden...specifically the head bartender from Spain. She is known to do this sort of thing.

[sealovers]

Aquahound - Thanks for the tip!

 

For those who have had their credit card account compromised in Key West, I can't think of a better venue than these boards to post the name of the business at which this occurred. I'm not sure if this is allowed on CC, but for the protection of the vacationers, more specifically cruiseship passengers, this will provide a valuable service.

 

Personally, I intend to use cash only and avoid all places I can identify as having had a direct connection with credit card fraud. Those businesses will not even see our cash business.

[EricaLovesCats]

I'll add some to this...my husband charged a $2.00 coffee on our credit card and the bill came back as $12.00. This was at the bagel shop in the WInn Dixie Plaza. Our bank took care of it no problem, and we also complained to the manager of the bagel shop, who was very kind and refunded the money and gave us a free coffee. So a great manager, lousy cashier. But I don't think many cruise passengers would make it out to the Winn Dixie Plaza....but just in case.

[Knights on the Beach]

But I don't think many cruise passengers would make it out to the Winn Dixie Plaza....but just in case.

You're right Erica, but some people on this board also spend a lot of time in Key West on land vacations, not just as cruise ship passengers there for only a few hours. We do go to the Winn Dixie Plaza, but we've never been in the bagel shop there. I appreciate you giving us the heads up.

[bhopal21]

I'll add some to this...my husband charged a $2.00 coffee on our credit card and the bill came back as $12.00. This was at the bagel shop in the WInn Dixie Plaza. Our bank took care of it no problem, and we also complained to the manager of the bagel shop, who was very kind and refunded the money and gave us a free coffee. So a great manager, lousy cashier. But I don't think many cruise passengers would make it out to the Winn Dixie Plaza....but just in case.

 

Are you referring to Goldman's? I have been there probably several hundred times and never had a problem and have always paid by credit card; but I always look at my receipt when I sign it to make sure it matches the check.

 

Mike:)

[EricaLovesCats]

Yes, Goldmans. Like I said though, the manager was really nice about it and I get the feeling it was just one bad cashier.

[derksta]

Beth, I checked out your Legend pictures from Dec. Very nice! Why is the Lido deck so empty...is it cause it's the day or embarkation and it's Dec. in Ft. Lauterdale? Just wondering why it's completely empty. 32 days till we sail the Liberty!!! My first cruise...I can't wait.

 

Derek

[derksta]

Maybe I'm "old school" (or just plain old!), but I've never seen the advantage of using a debit card over a credit card. The money never leaves my bank account until I write a check to the card company. No liability as long as I check my statements, never a day without my funds, waiting for the bank to agree to replace stolen funds.

How bout the interest....debit cards don't charge interest...just a small fee for using your own money! Either way you're paying extra not to use cash

[Knights on the Beach]

How bout the interest....debit cards don't charge interest...just a small fee for using your own money! Either way you're paying extra not to use cash

But if you pay off the credit card before the due date, there is no interest charged at all. It's like free money until the due date. ;)

 

Those pictues of the Lido deck were taken right after we ate lunch the first day we were on the ship. I think everyone must have been off exploring other areas of the ship at that time. Because we cruised in December and it wasn't a holiday week, there were a LOT of older (80s & up) people on that cruise. We never had trouble finding chairs right by the pool at any time of the day.

[sunandsalt]

How bout the interest....debit cards don't charge interest...just a small fee for using your own money! Either way you're paying extra not to use cash

 

I never carry a balance. Won't charge more than I can pay off when due. In fact, I "profit" when I use my credit card with airline miles or hotel points.

[bouhunter]

I never carry a balance. Won't charge more than I can pay off when due. In fact, I "profit" when I use my credit card with airline miles or hotel points.

 

As noted, pay it off and no interest charges, and love those hotel points.

 

We'll be spending a week in Key West next year using hotel points, 6 nights and it won't cost us a cent for the room!!:D :D

[rebeljohn]

Beware the Garden of Eden...specifically the head bartender from Spain. She is known to do this sort of thing.

 

We used cash at this bar.............didn't have a place to put a credit card...........:D :D :D