My credit card has been cloned !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
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The title said it all! After a trip in December/January, my visa debit card has been cloned.
3 fraudulent charges appeared 2 weeks after my return: 1 in the UK and 2 in Dubai totaling 3,000 USD :mad:

I have always used my card in the DR and never had any problems in DR over the years despite the warnings. I withdraw in banks and used it in 2 supermarkets and sometimes restaurants.

I will be more careful next time, I learned my lesson. I should be reimbursed soon, but still, BEWARE !
 

Celt202

Gold
May 22, 2004
9,099
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The title said it all! After a trip in December/January, my visa debit card has been cloned.
3 fraudulent charges appeared 2 weeks after my return: 1 in the UK and 2 in Dubai totaling 3,000 USD :mad:

I have always used my card in the DR and never had any problems in DR over the years despite the warnings. I withdraw in banks and used it in 2 supermarkets and sometimes restaurants.

I will be more careful next time, I learned my lesson. I should be reimbursed soon, but still, BEWARE !

A reputable card company should cover those losses.

It happened to me once with a too big to fail bank card and they wrote it off and paid me back.
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
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A reputable card company should cover those losses.

It happened to me once with a too big to fail bank card and they wrote it off and paid me back.

Indeed, the funds will be back within a couple of business days, they have insurance if I understand well.
Actually, it is my bank which alerted me.
 

jd426

Gold
Dec 12, 2009
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Your Bank should have caught this .. since its not in your " pattern" I assume ?
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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Your Bank should have caught this .. since its not in your " pattern" I assume ?

They did, thankfully, they alerted me to verify the charges.
I am so paranoid, that I thought it was a Nigerian trying to "fish" for my info and quickly hung up :nervous: But I call them back afterwards.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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Be careful.

I had credit cards cloned twice that were US based and my money was returned. Once promptly and once it took several months.

My wife had a credit card through BanReservas. A DOMINICAN credit card. We were in the US when about $1,200 US worth of charges were made in the Santiago, DR area. When she went to pay her bill, we find out about the fraudulent charges and protested them. The results came back that the charges were VALID, despite us having no physical way to make those purchases. That card has been cancelled and we us no credit cards in the DR.

I had researched this topic and found that the main problem is not at the points of sale, but the cards are being cloned with information gleaned at the credit card clearing houses in the DR by unscrupulous workers.
 

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
14,107
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I always use a card that little left in credit. For ex. I have a card I will use that only has 75.00 USD left. This I will use for a charge that will be close to it. I will use it to purchase a few gifts I will be taking back. If they try to use, it will be declined. 
 

jd426

Gold
Dec 12, 2009
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Some banks are better than Others ..
My last go around they caught it on a $40 charge for Ladies SHOES... and then still a $300 charge got through..

This time around ,its a lot DEEPER , working with them right now on it .. This seems to be happening a lot more recently..
I been hit 3 times in as many years ..Some of the merchants just dont care either ..as they are allowing 3rd parties to make purchases with Store pick ups , meanwhile the CC was never presented.
Did they tell you that there is an actual CARD that was made ( the true definition of Cloning).
those Chips are impossible supposedly to reproduce , unlike the Mag strips which are childs play .. and the Raised or Embossed Raised #s of the old days ... but most of this seems to be over the phone type transactions .
Even big Companies (I wont mention the one im working with) dont have all their pieces in place ,and stuff still gets through.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
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My card, a Chase card, advised me to do this....

Block your main card for internet use. 
They say most thefts go to the internet.... mine was SoAmerica

Use a different card for internet buys.

I have never had a problem since.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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jd46, it is indeed rampant in the DR, and as I mentioned, most frequently done by people with access to specialized equipment and the information directly from the clearing house in the DR.

I make a lot of purchases on line. I use virtual credit card numbers for this, which is a service provided by my credit card company in the US. They are for use only one time, for a set amount of money, and otherwise expire in two months. No issues at all with such virtual numbers, but they can only be used for telephone or online purchases. They need a way to do this for in store purchases, but have yet to figure out a method as yet.
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
7,775
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Some banks are better than Others ..
My last go around they caught it on a $40 charge for Ladies SHOES... and then still a $300 charge got through..

This time around ,its a lot DEEPER , working with them right now on it .. This seems to be happening a lot more recently..
I been hit 3 times in as many years ..Some of the merchants just dont care either ..as they are allowing 3rd parties to make purchases with Store pick ups , meanwhile the CC was never presented.
Did they tell you that there is an actual CARD that was made ( the true definition of Cloning).
those Chips are impossible supposedly to reproduce , unlike the Mag strips which are childs play .. and the Raised or Embossed Raised #s of the old days ... but most of this seems to be over the phone type transactions .
Even big Companies (I wont mention the one im working with) dont have all their pieces in place ,and stuff still gets through.

They did not specify but because of the merchants, it seems to be online purchase (Ticketmaster and Turkish Airlines).
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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They did not specify but because of the merchants, it seems to be online purchase (Ticketmaster and Turkish Airlines).

For those types of purchases they would have needed your correct three digit code on the back of your card, which is only known by you and probably those "trusted" to know it. Of course those people here are not trustworthy.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
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Use Paypal for internet purchases whenever possible. No one sees your card number.
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
7,775
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That card has been cancelled and we us no credit cards in the DR.

I don't want to sound like Paris Hilton, but how ?
Do you pay all your transactions in cash ? Do you withdraw money from the ATM ?

I am not comfortable with cash on me. Last time in LT, 2 neighboring villas got burglarized, the ladrones were looking for cash, since they left some electronics.

I am thinking about getting a prepaid card next time and transfer from my account as I go.