To be clear. I wasn't accusing g - link. Just saying that's where the charge was made.
To be clear. I wasn't accusing g - link. Just saying that's where the charge was made.
Credit card theft is rampant, thanks to Organized Retail Crime. Targets issue was their single stage firewall and the ability for the hacks to navigate thru their CCTV system as the gateway. Flips story sucks as he and his buddy didn't even use their cards in the same place.Originally Posted by Flipadelphia26
Curious Flip, have you thought about it happening at the hotel? Even in a safe you and your buddy could have been compromised. And just so I am clear, I am not accusing the hotel itself of anything. With the crowd that Dream weekend attracts from all over the island it could have been a guest staying there.
No. Security was very tight at the hotel. They were even hassling us to see our wrist bands and we were pretty.much the only Caucasians there that week.
I sleep with my wallet between my mattress and box spring. His was in the safe.
Got the charges reversed. So that's cool. The lady said someone used a physical card to make the purchase. Meaning someone made a copy of my cards magnetic strip. Crazy stuff. Glad It's sorted out.
Great to hear Flip. The burden of proof is on the merchant, and obviously they could not produce a picture of a ginger making the purchase or a signed slip to validate that it was you.
And for those who might be curious with what card to go with, American Express is by far the best card to have as a customer when dealing with bogus charges. When I see an American Express chargeback I kiss that money goodbye. Sadly, American Express is not well received in a lot of locales.
Glad you were able to get this resolved, Flip. This is some crazy stuff. I think I'm going to order one of those sleeves that Accompong posted a link to.
As an aside, I have only been a victim of CC fraud once. This was about 15 years ago and the thief took a decidedly low-tech approach - he stole some blank balance transfer checks from my trash can. Since then, I have diligently checked my statements/transactions at least once a month.
Last winter while in Jamaica for more than 5 months a $25.xx charge was made to The Gap somewhere in the US, I saw the charge when it was 'pending'. I hadn't ordered anything online in a long time and not a Gap customer, hadn't been to that state. My bank said it looked like the transaction was in kind of a held status by the merchant, as if on the merchant's software had already detected as a questionable transaction.
In Flip's situation, it could be someone has hacked into the company's merchant account (and maybe bank account). And possibly just a coincidence that the merchant was Jamaican, as the lift could have happened anywhere along your trip or even before you left home.
Thiefing people find ways around the systems. Last year we tried to sell something on Craigslist. I knew right off the interested party was going to be a scam. The strangest thing was they used the Fedex Account of a large local manufacturer in our state to send a poorly-rendered fake check from a different company. I called that manufacturer who groaned and said yes they knew this was going on and they hadn't been able to figure out how to get to the bottom of it. Local police were NOT interested in investigating. I have a relative in the FBI and they said the amount was too small (and it was more than $4,000).
Thanks for the tip on the RFID-blocking credit card SLEEVES. I knew about the wallets but don't want anything bulky. Those sleeves look perfect, plus they have passport-size sleeves too. THANK YOU!
Also interesting about the tip to poke a hole in the card, but I think unless you are breaking a line of circuitry (if you only punch through the plastic), it won't interrupt the coding.
Scotia bank in Jamaica is installing chip reding cards in Jamaica, I was surprised to see they are even ahead of the Americans.
Trip #59 most of February
Between jamaica and canada. You guys have about 10% of the cards to replace. I guess once the fraud exceeds the cost of switching. We will switch.
That's how it goes for me too, I use my card all the time, at home and abroad. I have had to get it replaced twice an both times the CC company alerted ME to the fraud.I filed a claim and my money was immediately returned to my account.
Honestly I don't stress about using it. I have zero liability for fraud on it.
However, I do not use my debit card as a credit card, only my credit card. Getting money back in an account is a bit more of a pain than simply having charges removed from a not-yet-paid bill.
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