A really good reason to stick to the approved shops

[eye R.N.]

I just got off the phone with Disney Visa. My credit card it seems, stayed in Mexico without me.

They were very prompt and only two charges got through, but someone had a very nice dinner and some car parts.

We only charged three things and one was at a non approved shop. I suspect they were the ones that sold my number.

Now I am without an account for 10 days.

 

[sandiedvc]

That is just horrible! I hope that you are not liable for the charges. We had a fraudulent charge on a card once (not cruise related) and didn't find out until we received the bill. Lucky for us, they didn't use it again. But it was still nerve wracking. What a nightmare for you. I'm glad that they were able to block the charges so quickly.

I was going to use my Disney visa on the western, but now I don't know. I don't want to have large amounts of cash with me. Are travelers checks the way to go?

How do you know the approved stores are safe? (Can you tell that I haven't been out of the States much?!)

Hope that you can soon re-find your Laughing Place !

 

[ruvidu]

Call the bank that issues your CC before you leave home and tell them you are going to be traveling. My bank cut our charge card off half way through my wife's shopping spree in Cozumel. No, we had not reached it's limit. We had been using it in Orlando, Key West, Cayman Islands anf then Mexico. We had to go back to the ship and have guest services call our bank for us. (your 1-800 number does not work in Mexico). When I IDed myself and explained we were on a cruise they turned the card back on. They said they turned it off because I was using it out of country and more than normal. They suggested we call them before we leave home next time and we will.
As for taking cash, I would never do that. Check with your issuing bank and find out their CC fraud policy. Your chances of getting ripped off are probably as good in the States as on a cruise.

Have a great cruise.
Russ

By the way we use Bank Of America.

 

[musicgirl]

Calling the credit card ahead of time is a great idea. Debit Cards as well, we had a daily limit put on it so in case it was stolen, they wouldn't get far!. We can call to have it raised when we need to. Some banks do this anyway-put on a limit.

My husband had his identity stolen 2 years ago. Someone had a very nice Christmas on him!!! 3 CC and a line of credit at a furniture store. The companies were very nice, but trying to clear up your credit takes awhile!

You should add that to the tip thread.

 

[4myguys]

Musicgirl: Such an invasion of privacy. Did they get his SSN? or just use info from CC? How long did it take you to recover?

 

[DisneyMagicTravis]

My Disney Visa number was stolen also.... I believe it happened when we were at one of the islands on our eastern cruise. I hadn't used it before that. Well about a month later, I had over $1500 racked up on my card. What ever you do, DON'T let your card out of your sight. Make them do the transaction right in front of you. The CC company told me that people take your card, swipe it through a hand held device and then sell your numbers or make counterfeit cards. It stores all of the information right off your card. So please be careful. I will not let anyone take my card behind a counter or away from me now....

Travis

 

[buzz5985]

My Disney Credit card was "shut down" last week, for what BankOne thought was unusual charges. I had paid off my cruise, that was $700, and then I bought a patio set for $900, plus my regular purchases (food, gas, incidentals) This was within 2 days, so BankOne is looking out for us. Just it was a pain, I tried to get gas and kept getting turned down. Very embarassing.

Janis

 

[AnnMorin]

I called our cc company before we left for the western. When we were at diamonds international they still had to speak with me on the phone before they let any charges go through. (their policy is anything over $500.00 from certain companies and the fraud department needs to verify) they asked my social security, mom's maiden name etc. I was happy they were so dilegent. (they were sweet apologizing for any inconvience- I thanked them for taking such good care of my account)

 

[lzj21428]

My DH had $30,000.00 in charges on his Amex card that were fraudulant. All the charges were made in Hong Kong. We have never been to Hong Kong. Luckily Amex caught it and shut the card down and we, of course, were not responsible for any of those charges. Anytime we travel to Egypt, we always call and let Amex know that charges will be made over there, because in the past the card has been shut down. Nothing is safe anymore.

 

[gdulaney]

Another good tip....check your card when the shopkeeper (or whomever) hands it back to you. There are cases where you could be handed back another person's card and your card is kept for fresh charges. It's an old scam, but it still works.

It really stinks that some folks are so dishonest!

- Ginny
Mean people stink!

 

[lisak1]

We plan just to use cash off of the ship, handing my credit card out in an unfamiliar place just does not sit well with me.

 

[abitjaded]

DO notify your credit card companies when you are going on the cruise. We also had two credit cards turned down on St Maarten at a DCL certified store. The shop then took a personal check, maybe because the port CM from the Magic was in the shop and it was obvious she knew us and obvious that we were on the ship. When we got home we found messages on our phone from the fraud department of both companies with an explanation of the refusal. This did not affect our charging on the ship, even after we were turned down in port. So even though it may be obvious to the company that you are out of the country, they still try to protect the card from someone "lifting" your number. If you know you are going to make a large purchase, let the company know what it may be, the companies look for certain types of charges, jewelry and electronics. I am also going to take the fraud numbers with me next time, and have my cell checked for ability to call them, or know where I can call to get the card cleared. If the company cannot cover me, I will take some traveler's checks. The shop said it would be too expensive to try and call the companies directly.

Carla

 

[Melora]

Our Disney card would not let my husband pay for our 2 storage units one after the other.... they charged him for the first one, and when they went to put in the second charge, the credit company wouldn't authorize it since it was a duplicate charge (same amount for the same thing). We had to write a check for the second unit.. it was frustrating since at the time we didn't know why we coudln't make the second charge... I guess they are just looking out for us

 

[karenTX]

I'm so sorry this happened to you!! I'm going through fraud alert stuff too as I had my identity stolen too!

DH and I were planning to go to a DCL approved store and find a nice anniversary gift for me while in Nassau. Do you think it might be better to take traveler's checks and leave the CC in the room safe? Anyone know if you can get a better price paying with cash/traveler's checks rather the cc anyway?

Thanks!