Credit or Debit,, Ma'am ??

[KeyWestPirate]

"Oh,,, do you have another card?
This one didn't go through"


So,, either the Counter Burger D32 or the Brazilian Gift Shop (probably same concourse) at MIA got the information from a couple of Shelley's cards.

What's fascinating is,, these guys really have it figured out.
I found three,,

YDSVGN.com

SWTHFV.com

FNDVGN.com

With the same canned webpage, different pictures, different language,, but obviously the same design.


They make a small charge,, $12.99 or $39.99, and many people would look at the charge and not bother to pursue it.
These are the names on the charges.

They have to capture the magnetic stripe and duplicate it, and jot down the ccv if it's going to be an online transaction.

More and more merchants don't ask for a PIN if it's less than $50.
This could explain the smaller transaction amounts as well

In Europe it is rare for anyone to take your card and process it somewhere out of your sight.
You are presented with a wireless POS terminal to complete the transaction.
Even here,, you see more and more restaurants bring the POS terminal to your table.


What to do??

Avoid swiping your card,, use the chip reader option. Skimmers are hard to detect.
Don't let your card out of your sight.
>>>>Not so easy at the Counter Burger 32 at MIA, and the guy is probably using a skimmer anyway.
Use cash at places like an airport for small purchases burger or a cup of coffee.

Use a card that sends an immediate email when the card is charged.
Even in Nicaragua, I often get the email before the gas station attendant returns with the chit for me to sign.

In Estelí I had a well known restaurant (COHIFER as I remember),, charge my card three times for the same meal.
When I went back to inquire,, their excuse was the terminal ran out of paper, and the girl just kept repeating the transaction trying to get it to work
But, that was the next day,, and they had not removed the charges.
I had already contacted PayPal and had the charges removed.
I cannot say enough positive things about PayPal's customer service


In Shelley's case, PayPal identified the charge (YDSVGN.com) as fraudulent, and immediately locked her card.
Her account was still accessible via login,, but PayPal is NOT going to unlock the card.
They are sending her another to her address of record (which is NOT Nicaragua).

Chase sent her a text message,, she declined the charge (from SWTHFV.com), and that card is still usable.

So,, the problem here is not the loss of money. The amounts are small.
The problem is losing the use of your card or cards while you are traveling outside of the US

[bill_bly_ca]

"Oh,,, do you have another card?
This one didn't go through"


So,, either the Counter Burger D32 or the Brazilian Gift Shop (probably same concourse) at MIA got the information from a couple of Shelley's cards.

What's fascinating is,, these guys really have it figured out.
I found three,,

YDSVGN.com

SWTHFV.com

FNDVGN.com

This always mystified us up here - We have been chip going on 20 yrs now - Such that you can not make the purchase if the chip and pin does not go through. IIRC a google dive a few years ago (10?) led to the consensus of who would pay for the roll out - e.g. US retailers were being told that they would have to pay for the updated terminals.

In our last run to the states there were 2 stations that we could not fill on the CC because they were strip only. Same in Nicaragua - Strip only purchases always declined.

I guess the big difference is that you are not libel for fraudulent uses of you card up here while in the states you are responsible for a portion if not all of it. Hence if the companies are on the hook for cases from fraud I guess it was in their interest to pay for most of the new terminals.

[el duende grande]

Speaking of banks, some ATMs here now have you slide in the card sideways. What will they think of next. I believe everything is chip here now as far as cash from ATMs.

[KeyWestPirate]

This always mystified us up here - We have been chip going on 20 yrs now - Such that you can not make the purchase if the chip and pin does not go through. IIRC a google dive a few years ago (10?) led to the consensus of who would pay for the roll out - e.g. US retailers were being told that they would have to pay for the updated terminals.

In our last run to the states there were 2 stations that we could not fill on the CC because they were strip only. Same in Nicaragua - Strip only purchases always declined.

I guess the big difference is that you are not libel for fraudulent uses of you card up here while in the states you are responsible for a portion if not all of it. Hence if the companies are on the hook for cases from fraud I guess it was in their interest to pay for most of the new terminals.

It's odd that they would not insist on chip only here. You are only responsible for the first $50 of a fraudulent transaction here, so the banks eat a lot.
It's a cost of doing business I guess.


In Nicaragua,, as I understand,, the banks sell insurance against credit card fraud.
Something like $10 month.
Without the insurance you are out of luck.


I just fell for an online scam.
I bought a toolbox from Sears, really great deal I thought, but it turned out that this particular Sears is in >>> Lithuania
Although Sears has shut down their stores,, they have some online presence due to the strength of their brands,, particularly Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances.
The website looked so real

https://www.google.com/search?client...sears.com+9300



The website looked so real!

[bill_bly_ca]

I just fell for an online scam.
I bought a toolbox from Sears, really great deal I thought, but it turned out that this particular Sears is in >>> Lithuania
Although Sears has shut down their stores,, they have some online presence due to the strength of their brands,, particularly Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances.
The website looked so real

The website looked so real!

Same for us with a Coleman look alike - After no shipping info I reported to both the card company and Coleman - site was gone and money refunded within 3 days..