Be sure and check your bank balance daily upon return!!

We have been back from Jamaica for 2 weeks now. We had a great time as usual. ...BUT, just checked our bank balance on this snowy day. Yesterday and today, someone hacked our account with our debit card in Lucea...Texas...and again in JA...for over 1300.00 US. This has never happened to us before. We each have a debit card and I never used mine while in JA...my husband used his (even though they both are on the same account). It was his card number that was used on ALL of the withdrawals.

Obviously, I am not blaming Jamaica as this can occur anywhere. I am just reminding everyone to check daily upon return for one never knows. Thank Jah, that we were able to get in touch with the bank today before it closed early due to the severe snow storm that has hit. They are putting the funds back in our account. Obviously, we are happy about that...but what a pain in the ass! I was explaining to the gentleman at our bank that all of the ATM's we used were private and locked..which he was not aware of. The card was always locked up and never used anywhere except ATM's.

Again, I know this can happen anywhere in the world....I am only posting this to raise awareness upon return regarding your account. Blessings.

Yeah that happened to me after returning from Jamaica.. But the bank called me and it was easily fixed

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Originally Posted by 541lion

Yeah that happened to me after returning from Jamaica.. But the bank called me and it was easily fixed

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Maybe I just lucked out today when I checked the account. I sure hope they would have notified me since they had the dates that we were gone on record. But, the first withdrawal was yesterday with another 2 today...however, I can only imagine how much more they could have taken out if it weren't caught today. I am thankful that it was all dealt with today....10 minutes before the bank closed until Monday. :)

I use only the Scotia ATM when travelling, the only reason I have a Scotia account is because they have ATMs all over the caribbean and Mexico. It is set up to only allow a set amount of withdrawal per day. I don't use "private" ATMs anywhere, home or away.
Not saying I won't get burned this way but at least I am doing my best to prevent it.

Oddly enough, 2 of the withdrawals were listed as Nova Scotia Bank. Who knows, sadly it is just the digital world we live in now. One was listed in Lucea. This was our first time NOT having Travelers Checks. I know that many folks think TC's are a hassle but we old F---ers...really liked having them. This year, there were NO banks in our city that carried them anymore. We never had any trouble cashing them. I wish they were still available for us locally. As my dad always said, "nothing as inevitable as change"....but it doesn't mean we have to like it. LOL

Our local bank also has a set amount of withdrawal. I guess that is why 2 were on yesterday, with a larger withdrawal this morning.

I had a hard time to even pay for my hotel deposit because my bank kept 'flagging' it..........I need to thank them for that.....Last year they flagged my account too since I had made a purchase in KC, then used ATM in Atlanta and the hotel in Jamaica in the afternoon. My bank was "right on it" and called me several times to make sure they were legit...

I wish us Yanks could open Scotia Bank accounts. It would make the whole money thing easier. Sadly you must be a Canadian citizen.

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Originally Posted by Ras Walleye

I wish us Yanks could open Scotia Bank accounts. It would make the whole money thing easier. Sadly you must be a Canadian citizen.

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You can open a Scotia account as an American citizen.

I have pertinent information about the ATM billing issue.

As soon as I speak with Yetta personally I will post

Cap

Hmmm, I returned with a similar issue. Used ATM twice at downtown Scotia. Switched to ATM by Valuemaster because of the fees. Used it Jan 4 and 5 at Valuemaster but when I got back there were 3 on the Jan 4 and one on Jan 5. 2 on the 4th had the exact same transaction number. One of those was before my receipt and one after even with same transaction. Both bogus transactions used Jan 5th JMD to USD conversion rate instead of the 4th. One of the bogus was credited back a few days later. Still waiting on the other one.

I know travellers cheques are now out of style but wish they were not. Maybe a pain in the arse for some but the security of having them was worth the pain and worry in my humble opinion. I am not comfortable to use the ATM's at the bank or other locations in foreign. When I travel I am happy for anything that relieves the stress of being away from home.

been using mi Debit ATM cards since who knows when here.......probably since the late 80's or early 90's
mi use mi American Debit Cards all da time here and never had a problem........
these days mi use them primarily at HiLo, ValueMaster and Quality Traders....takes food to live here....lol
rarely at da NCB ATM by HiLo....which mi have used since the 90's.......without a problem
never used the Scotia Banks ATM's.....and only a couple times the NCB ATM by ValueMaster......

Cool Runnings, Marko

In 15 trips to Jamaica I have never used a debit or credit card while on the island. I take them in case of emergency, but have never had to use them.

I have mentioned this on here before and was flamed for carrying cash, but I have a method that works for me and I will continue to use it. All of my cash is never in one place and is never out of my site.

Just curious if the cards that were hacked had the new chip in them or not. I have seen reports of how someone can electronically steal your card info if close enough to it. Men's wallets are typically in spots someone can stand very near. I do use a debit card for cash and fortunately have never had an issue. I did have a problem once with a credit card I only used at the airport but you are not responsible for bogus charges on a credit card. It was quickly caught and we were alerted and cancelled the card.

I had the same thing happen during the first week of the year. The ATM card we use is from Schwab brokerage.

Here's the scenario:

A withdrawal made on New Year's eve suddenly appeared twice on the the internet activity page.
Oddly, both had the same transaction number. However, one was an ATM withdrawal and the other showed as POS (point of sale) transaction.
It being the holiday I couldn't get in touch with Schwab until the following Monday.
When I spoke with them and their fraud/forensic department they were unaware of the issue but immediacy refunded the second (POS) transaction
I told them I needed to make another withdrawal and they told me to go ahead and they would monitor.
On Tuesday the same thing happened so I called again
At that time they told me that it was happening to all ATM transactions in the Caribbean and South America and was being investigated.
All ATM and CC purchases in the Carribbean and South America are processed at a facility in Brazil..
By Friday the problem had been solved and has not occurred again. They blamed it on a sofware glitch.

Interesting conjecture on my part:

1. I fund the Jamaica card on an "as needed" basis and it is not tied to any other source of funds and I transfer the funds by hand on the 'Net
2. In the interim I only have 10 bucks or so in that account. This can be done is seconds by way of the internet.
3. The first double withdrawal took the balance down to a negative number which is impossible without a secondary backup account
4. The "software glitch" explanation make no sense. I've been using this system for several years with no problem.
5. COMPUTER CODE CANNOT REWRITE ITSELF !
6. Possibly a code error due to the change in year? Remeber Y2K?
7. "All now" There has never been an explanation of these events
8. I think it was a hack at the processing facility but it's hard to figure who benefited.

That's what I know. Everything is back to normal

Cap

Rumlover I've heard that about the microchip cards as well! That's why mine is sitting here unactivated..

Lisa, I've tried and was denied because I was not a Canadian citizen.

Captain, I experienced a similar NYE glitch, also with a Schwab card. (I called them NY Day, they are staffed 24/7). At midnight it repeated the transaction at the then-current exchange rate, Schwab said it looked like a machine error. The transaction description is different than my withdrawal but reads like the same place. The fraud dept issued a provisional credit on the 6th. I also thought about Y2K.

A credit card account was hit TWICE in the past year with fraudulent store purchases, both times it was at a physical store in the US (different stores/states), and two purchases made.

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Originally Posted by Ras Walleye

Lisa, I've tried and was denied because I was not a Canadian citizen.

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Ras...the Scotia Bank in Canada or Jamaica?

Canada, I called and asked about setting up a account and they said as a citizen of the US I was not eligible. But that was 5 or 6 years ago, maybe it's changed.

Sorry to have to come back to this thread, but my debit card was definitely skimmed at a Negril ATM on Friday. On Saturday night and early Sunday morning withdrawals were made in Ironshore, Jamaica. They must have very sophisticated equipment because multiple withdrawals were taken from both the same and different ATMs in less than 3 minutes.

Examine the card slots before using...

Lola,

Which ATM?

Cap

lola, what should we look for when examining the card slot?

Lola,

Is your debit card issued in JA or Internationally? (USA?)

Please let us know.

Rob

was told the same thing about 2 years ago

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Originally Posted by Ras Walleye

Canada, I called and asked about setting up a account and they said as a citizen of the US I was not eligible. But that was 5 or 6 years ago, maybe it's changed.

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Originally Posted by Rob

Lola,

Is your debit card issued in JA or Internationally? (USA?)

Please let us know.

Rob

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Earlier in the thread she says a Schwab card

Cap

Rob, its Schwab from the US. Interestingly, all the fraudulent withdrawals were taken at Bank of Nova Scotia - which (at least in Negril) charges a fee, which adds to the transaction time. They must have a way to override the machines to withdraw so quickly.

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Originally Posted by Lola

Rob, its Schwab from the US. Interestingly, all the fraudulent withdrawals were taken at Bank of Nova Scotia - which (at least in Negril) charges a fee, which adds to the transaction time. They must have a way to override the machines to withdraw so quickly.

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Lola,

Which ATM did you use?

Thanks

Cap

Captain, I've decided not to post that publicly. One reason, I don't want people to think other ATM's are okay.

Here are a couple links on ATM skimming & cameras:

http://security.stackexchange.com/qu...ther-atm-traps (the atm I used had an ANTI-skimming slot as shown in 2nd photo)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...dodgy-ATM.html

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/savi...thieves-1.aspx

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Originally Posted by Lola

Captain, I've decided not to post that publicly. One reason, I don't want people to think other ATM's are okay.

Here are a couple links on ATM skimming & cameras:

http://security.stackexchange.com/qu...ther-atm-traps (the atm I used had an ANTI-skimming slot as shown in 2nd photo)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...dodgy-ATM.html

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/savi...thieves-1.aspx

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It would be very beneficial to people to know the location. They can use links to get useful information and make their own decisions. Its been almost 4 years since I was in Negril. Isn't there a "real" bank in the downtown area? Couldn't one go inside the bank and use their service inside? If that's possible, I seriously doubt one would encounter issues inside the bank. I will talk to my bank before I leave in Feb and get there take on how to attempt a little better security on our end.

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Originally Posted by limeex2

Isn't there a "real" bank in the downtown area? Couldn't one go inside the bank and use their service inside? If that's possible, I seriously doubt one would encounter issues inside the bank.

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Scotia Bank is a real bank, and yes, you can go inside during banking hours and use an indoor ATM. That's certainly the safest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lola

Interestingly, all the fraudulent withdrawals were taken at Bank of Nova Scotia - which (at least in Negril) charges a fee, which adds to the transaction time. They must have a way to override the machines to withdraw so quickly.

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Lola, if they skimmed your credit card, they are using equipment (easy to buy) that reads the stripe on your card; probably a camera to get your PIN; and a machine to produce duplicate cards. Then they can simply produce several duplicate cards and send them out with accomplices who use them on schedule wherever they want, so as to get a bunch of transactions done before the account is closed. Not especially sophisticated.

I would say never to use a private ATM, and to be very suspicious in using any outside of a bank - including the walk-up ones outside a bank.

No where in Jamaica is soon come more evident than when trying to do bank business. If you need a teller, expect to wait in line forever.

But they have ATMs inside??

This is a bit disturbing. We are heading to Negril in April from Michigan(2nd trip). If we were to buy prepaid credit cards, would hotels, restaurants. stores accept these? and if they do accept them, would we get screwed on the conversion factor. I would hate to carry a bunch of cash on me. or I guess as long as you are monitoring your accts and advise the bank/credit card company before your trip, it should be caught pretty quick and funds returned, right?
This has happened to me a couple times over the years where transactions took place that I didnt make when travelling within the US so I do know this can happen anywhere.

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Originally Posted by 541lion

But they have ATMs inside??

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I was last there 2 years ago, but at that time there were 2 inside and 2 outside. There was always a security person near the door.

There were also 2 outside, in the usual "booth" arrangement you see at banks. One would dispense only JMD, the other would let you choose between JMD or USD.

Remember that the bank is open banking hours only, so on weekends you'd have to use the outside ATMs. I often found them to be out of money on Sundays.

If withdrawing in JMD, be sure to ask for the right amount - if you ask for $300. you'll get $300 JMD, and pay the $1.50 US (or whatever) transaction fee.

If anybody has more recent information, please correct me as needed.

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Originally Posted by belfar3

If we were to buy prepaid credit cards, would hotels, restaurants. stores accept these?

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Yes.

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and if they do accept them, would we get screwed on the conversion factor.

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Yes. You'll need to carefully read the terms and conditions, but I expect you will find there is a significant foreign transaction fee on each transaction, in addition to being charged an exchange rate.

I usually take out enough cash for 3-4 days at a time, and keep enough for each day on my person and the rest in the hotel safe - with my passport.

I won't claim expertise on card skimming but it seems to me they need both your account number AND your secret PIN code. "Protect your PIN" is more than a slogan. I always cover one hand with the other to conceal my PIN. That hidden camera will need x-ray vision.

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Originally Posted by Craig123

I won't claim expertise on card skimming but it seems to me they need both your account number AND your secret PIN code. "Protect your PIN" is more than a slogan. I always cover one hand with the other to conceal my PIN. That hidden camera will need x-ray vision.

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Good idea to use everywhere...however, I have been searching the web regarding info on card skimming since this happened to me. Apparently, this doesn't always help. These devious dudes even use fake pin pads placed over existing ones...that look the same..in order to obtain the PIN. Next trip, I plan to use the one inside the bank. I have been inside the NS Bank before to cash Travelers Checks (when I use to be able to get them) but didn't really see an ATM. I am glad that someone posted the information regarding the presence of these.

I have found a simple solution for travel money, that has worked great for me for years, but might not for everyone. I opened an account in a different bank, besides my bank where
I have my regular checking account. I use it strictly for travel and only keep an amount that I think I'm going to need , maybe a little extra.... so that way if
my account ever gets messed with, it won't hurt me to much.

I have always used the one outside of NS bank......but I won't now, I will use the indoor one....