A warning when putting a credit card down for room charges!!

[Ergens2]

I know this is not the norm. but I wanted to give you a heads up. While vacationing at BWV Sept. 30- Oct 8 my cc# was stolen. Yesterday, they tried to charge $6000 online at an electronics store in Canada. My cc company was able to close the acct. before the charges went through. I got a call this morning from a rep. asking if I knew anyone in the Orlando area. I said that I was just there on vacation. The electronics company was able to track the purchase to a person in the Orlando area. Now I am not accusing a CM of doing this but the only time I used my card our entire trip was to put down for room charges. Just a friendly reminder to check your statements and card activity regularly. The same thing happened to a friend of mine back in May at the same resort. Coincedence? Maybe, maybe not. But I am contacting managment today to inform them of the issue.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Keep us posted on the response and/or resolution.
Thanks.

 

[tnkrbell]

WOW!! That is really disturbing! Im glad your cc company was right on that!!
Hope it all turns out ok for you and they find the person who stole the number.

 

[catbertdave99]

I feel your pain! On August 2nd, I checked my credit card statement online (I check it fairly often) and there was a $3,582 charge on August 1st for Disney World Resorts -- that I didn't make! The bank kept asking me, "Are you sure you weren't in Orlando yesterday?" ... believe me, I was sure. Anyway, they removed the charge right away.

The worst part? I WASN'T at Disney World and someone else was! I felt like one of those commercials for identity theft!

 

[kedaniels]

You can never be too careful and you never know where something will happen.

My husband Social Security number was stolen from within American Express. An AmEx employee was working with a Nigerian Crime Ring and stealing SSN's and selling them to the crime ring. We caught it fairly quickly but still had to deal with closing new credit cards, credit collection agencies for phone service in FL (we live in MA) and electric companies, etc.

 

[DW mouser]

WOW!! Glad it didn't cause you more trouble!! This is so common now that I guess we even have to suspect CM'S at disney!! Which resort did you stay at? Guess it could happen at any of them. Hope the management takes it all seriously and they catch whom ever is doing this!! I know a girl that this happened to at a credit union. Thanks for posting!!

 

[Mister Incredible]

Did you use the card at a gas station? We filled up one time on the way back to the airport and had our card number stolen. We never use our keys as credit cards. We forgot we used the card to fill up. We got the same call, someone in Orlando was using the card. We were lucky, they just used the numbers at other gas stations.

 

[tjmw2727]

My dh just read an article advising people to shred key cards from any and all hotels after check out. Evidently they contain LOTS of informatoin and in the wrong hands could be used to get your ccd# and more. Not just hotel employees but anyone in a business that has a card reader.

Good luck resolving this and thanks for the heads up.

TJ

 

[Tigger_Magic]

My dh just read an article advising people to shred key cards from any and all hotels after check out. Evidently they contain LOTS of informatoin and in the wrong hands could be used to get your ccd# and more. Not just hotel employees but anyone in a business that has a card reader.

Good luck resolving this and thanks for the heads up.

TJ

Hotel key cards do not contain personal information or credit card numbers. This is an Internet hoax that's been around for years. See Snopes -- http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/hotelkey.asp

 

[cheerful chickadee]

since I was already worried about this anyways (call me paranoid)...is it possible to pay your hotel balance in cash upon arrival/check-in? Will they take cash? I know we reserved with a cc but we don't want it attached to our resort ID for charging purposes, we will be using other means.

to the OP let us know how this turns out, what a terrible thing to come home to

 

[tlbwriter]

This is a good reason to always have at least two CCs, IMHO. I learned my lesson a few years ago, when we had cancelled one CC (@#$%^ Citibank) and were down to one active CC. We learned the number of our active CC was stolen right before I had to attend a conference. Luckily it was within driving distance and I had planned to drive rather than stay at a hotel - otherwise, I would have had to pay cash for the entire stay. Not impossible, but it would have been a budget strain. Now, what if that happened while I was out of state, and might not be able to write a check? Or if it had been a debit card (which I don't use, for this very reason)?

 

[Tigger_Magic]

since I was already worried about this anyways (call me paranoid)...is it possible to pay your hotel balance in cash upon arrival/check-in? Will they take cash? I know we reserved with a cc but we don't want it attached to our resort ID for charging purposes, we will be using other means.

At WDW or other resorts where you can use your hotel keycard to record charges, your credit card information is not encoded on the card itself. The keycard contains an indicator or electronic "flag" that the guest has a valid credit card on file with the hotel/resort. When a card reader detects the flag, it registers that you are authorized to charge the purchase to your hotel room account.

If you don't want charging privileges on your resort keycard, simply tell the CM at check-in and they will code the keycard so that this indicator/flag is not present. Either way, there is no link on the hotel keycard to your credit card.

 

[Lan]

Do you have to put down a credit card to have charging privd. or can you just put down cash to charge back to the room?

 

[DisneyFreaks]

since I was already worried about this anyways (call me paranoid)...is it possible to pay your hotel balance in cash upon arrival/check-in? Will they take cash?

We paid off our room balance at AKL in cash. We paid it when we checked in and the CM had no problem with us doing it that way.

 

[ducklite]

Ergens2,

Please call the resort you were staying at and ask to speak to someone in their security department. Let them know what happened, and tell them you want to make a written report, and to send the paperwork to you. Don't take no for an answer.

Anne

 

[clkelley]

Even though the OP had problems, I would still rather have my room key for charging priviledges. That way your actual credit card is only flashed at one place, and then can be safely tucked away. Your room charge can be cancelled and replaced immediately, if lost, whereas your credit card will take a minimum of 24 hours to be replaced. If cash is lost, it is lost. Also, if your number is stolen at WDW, you can definitely say the only place you used your actual CC was at the resort desk.

Carol

 

[AMcaptured]

Unfortunately with the advances in technology, it is SO simple to steal someone's credit card number. We have had our number stolen twice this past year and a check number stolen through a merchant also. It isn't until it happens to you that you realize you are basically helpless and defenseless to the situation, it is RAMPANT!!

You will NEVER be stuck with the charges and every single time it has happened to us, we have been informed by the credit card company itself that our number was being used at a walmart in Rockford, IL, we live in the Northeast!! They bought $600 of cigarettes each time. Cigarettes are a hot "hot" item.

The thieves have little portable credit card scanner about the size of a pager that usually is on their belt and they can slide your credit card right through the scanner to retrieve your information. Their pager then stories the information and they sell it later in the day to their other friends who print up the cards. The sad part is that this technology is readily available through online sites. At least that is how it was explained to me.

This happened to us on the same credit card and that credit card was only used by us to purchase gas because of the 5% discount they use to give with it (btw, that discount has been discontinued... ). We stopped using the gas station we were using regularly and we haven't had a problem since so I assume it was being done by someone working there. We did report it but the police could care less and we have never heard back on it at all.

It is sad that this happens because ultimately we all end up paying for the crime.


Caution is the word

 

[Ergens2]

Ok folks, I called and spoke with a manager and then was trans. to security (just like you said Ducklite) They have filed a report and will investigate. The security officer said this was not the first report from my time frame at the resort and an investigation is going on. I feel better now that I have talked to them but am worried for others who might have fallen prey and are unaware of it!
I was at BWV Sept 30- Oct 8.

 

[Poohgirl]

Aghhh, I was there around then too... (Runs to check statements...)

 

[my3kids]

Disney should offer an option....being groped by Tigger or having your identity stolen.

Seriously....really sorry that happened.