Be Careful! I *think* my CC was compromised at Disney!

[starbox]

All this CC fraud is why the KTTW card is the best way to go short of cash. You give your number once to the front desk. I find it hard to believe that anyone has had any fraud problems by just using the KTTW card for charging. You always open yourself up to fraud if you use the card directly.

ITA - and this is why I have the ONE credit card that I use ONLY to link to the KTTW when I check in at the resort. I used this card a total of three times - to link to my KTTW at BCV/VB/AKV - after that, it was in the safe the entire trip.

That's why I suspect the info was taken by a CM at the resort.

 

[eliza61]

Last June an employee at the WL was arrested for grand theft for using a guest credit card so it can happen.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/Travel_News/Disney_employee_arrested_for_grand_theft.htm

That being said, here are a few tips from the ccs (consumer credit services) that may help whenever you travel.

- If you can, use a seperate cc for traveling with a lower balance than your normal cc.
- Never use a debit card tied into your bank account
- KTTW is probably a little more secure simply because the more you hand over your card the more vulnerable it is. NYC had a problem with servers in restuarants taking guest cc and then copying the information once out of site.

I'm sure there are many more. generally I never think crime can't happen at Disney, I'm more of the opposite. I think thieves would flock to Disney because it's got all those nice vacationers flush with cash.

 

[Disney_Villain]

I agree - I'd rather not have my actual credit card # all over.

Agreed!

Better to use your card once at the check-in desk (have it pre-auth'd) and then lock your cc's in the room safe until you leave the parks.

 

[JimMIA]

NYC had a problem with servers in restuarants taking guest cc and then copying the information once out of site.

That's the most common form of credit card fraud. It's called "skimming." The wait staff (or front desk person at a hotel) carries a little card reader and swipes your card when noone is looking. The card reader captures all of the information from the magnetic stripe on the back of your card. That information is then sold to a credit card fraud ring and is encoded either to blank media or stolen credit cards which have been canceled by the owner.

When a store's POS system requires the entry of the last 4 digits of your credit card number, or you are asked for the 3-digit number on the back of the card, the merchant is trying to protect against "skimming." If skimmed information is encoded on a mag stripe, it will not match the original number embossed on the card. The 3 digit security code is not contained on the mag stripe and a crook's guess would almost certainly be incorrect.

We always want to come up with the most sophisticated plots (hacking, etc.) and everyone worries about using credit cards shopping on the Internet. But the truth is the riskiest transaction you will ever do with your card is pay for dinner or a bar bill. That is where most cards are compromised.

New York City is sort of the intergallactic capital of credit card fraud, but Florida and London usually fight for second. Almost all credit card fraud in Florida is done either in Orlando or Miami, so WDW is certainly a hotbed for that kind of fraud.

 

[pixie921]

No, you do not need a CC on file for a DVC stay on points. The only down side is no charging privileges and no quick checkout.

We never leave a CC on file and always have the quick checkout. We've never once had to check out at the front desk on any of our stays, DVC or not.

 

[tjkraz]

Agreed!

Better to use your card once at the check-in desk (have it pre-auth'd) and then lock your cc's in the room safe until you leave the parks.

This might also be a good endorsement for using the on-line checkin. Since credit card info is entered on the web before even arriving at the resort, there's no reason to even hand-over the card at the front desk.

 

[disneynutz]

This might also be a good endorsement for using the on-line checkin. Since credit card info is entered on the web before even arriving at the resort, there's no reason to even hand-over the card at the front desk.

That may help, but everyone seems to have access to the information. Front of house and back office.

 

[Dvc CA]

Be thankful its only a credit card. I was on vacation in Hawaii a few years ago and my ATM card with the Visa logo got cloned. Went to get money from the ATM and found out my account was cleaned out! It took about two weeks to get my money back.

 

[disneynutz]

We never leave a CC on file and always have the quick checkout. We've never once had to check out at the front desk on any of our stays, DVC or not.

How do you quick check out without a CC. Do you maintain a zero balance?

 

[kid-at-heart]

Just wondering, if you link a credit card to your room card when you check in at the resort and then lose your room card, can the finder of your room card charge on it?

 

[corpcomp]

This happened to people last year there and their cards were scanned during dinners. We NEVER use our CC except to check in and charge everything to the room card. The CC stays in the safe the whole time.

 

[JimMIA]

How do you quick check out without a CC. Do you maintain a zero balance?

Yes. If you don't charge to the room, there is no reason to have to go to the front desk and check out. I just call them to be sure everything's in order.

 

[JimMIA]

Just wondering, if you link a credit card to your room card when you check in at the resort and then lose your room card, can the finder of your room card charge on it?

Yes they could, but theoretically you would notice that when you received your pre-checkout bill.

If you missed it and didn't notice anything wrong until you got your credit card bill, it would be much more difficult to get fixed because the only charge that would show on your credit card bill would be to the Disney resort. You'd have to go back through the internal charges between the outlets and the resort to find out which charges were legit and which were fraudulent. And we all know how Disney computer systems are!

 

[spiceycat]

Yes. If you don't charge to the room, there is no reason to have to go to the front desk and check out. I just call them to be sure everything's in order.

thank you

always left a cc but never charged on it - for the check out - if that can be done without a cc.

definitely not using one in the future.

 

[JimMIA]

thank you

always left a cc but never charged on it - for the check out - if that can be done without a cc.

definitely not using one in the future.

Our first few trips I would always leave the credit card. What changed my mind was not fraud, but glitches a few years ago with the DDP plan. If the DDP credits didn't go through for some reason, the meals would get room-billed and folks had one heck of a time getting that mess straightened out.

But I haven't left a credit card at the front desk in the last 5-6 trips, and have never had any problem at all. I just call and double-check, tell them we're out of the room, and I'm done.

 

[fishermouse]

Guess this proves WDW is actully a part of the real world! All resorts are prone to CC theft, not much you can do about it, as long as you stick to using CC and not a debit card you should be ok. Most CC have zero liability, just a little hassle calling to straighten things out. I don't think Disney is any more likely than other resorts to have this type of fraud just a lot more people pulling those cards out.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

This happened to people last year there and their cards were scanned during dinners. We NEVER use our CC except to check in and charge everything to the room card. The CC stays in the safe the whole time.

I never give a CC at check-in, never want it on the KTTW card either. Last year I believe it was reported that a CM was using another type of blackmarket scanner that lifts the info off of the cards. I think they also use these at bank atm's. This is from recall, so please don't quote me on this. But this has been mentioned before here on the DIS, same thing, they only used the card for checking in.

 

[dopeygirl76]

We never use a credit card on our KTTW as we generally do not use CCs at all (lessons learned!). Our chase disney rewards is the only one we do use or have accessible at any time and use it for major purchases and pay it off immediately. So in april 2008 when we returned from WDW I was shocked to see a charge in Orlando for a transportation company - we had used a car service (first experience) and paid over the phone - that was the only use of the card that whole trip and of course it was prior to even getting there. So while there may be problems within Wdw there are also many other places people looking for money can get to you!!!And I thought I was REALLY careful!

 

[jfinke]

That's the most common form of credit card fraud. It's called "skimming." The wait staff (or front desk person at a hotel) carries a little card reader and swipes your card when noone is looking. The card reader captures all of the information from the magnetic stripe on the back of your card. That information is then sold to a credit card fraud ring and is encoded either to blank media or stolen credit cards which have been canceled by the owner.

When a store's POS system requires the entry of the last 4 digits of your credit card number, or you are asked for the 3-digit number on the back of the card, the merchant is trying to protect against "skimming." If skimmed information is encoded on a mag stripe, it will not match the original number embossed on the card. The 3 digit security code is not contained on the mag stripe and a crook's guess would almost certainly be incorrect.

We always want to come up with the most sophisticated plots (hacking, etc.) and everyone worries about using credit cards shopping on the Internet. But the truth is the riskiest transaction you will ever do with your card is pay for dinner or a bar bill. That is where most cards are compromised.

New York City is sort of the intergallactic capital of credit card fraud, but Florida and London usually fight for second. Almost all credit card fraud in Florida is done either in Orlando or Miami, so WDW is certainly a hotbed for that kind of fraud.

As an Information Security professional, this was going to be what I would post. Think about the physical security of your card every time you hand it over to a server and it disappears for 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Not only that, but they also have a copy of your signature when you leave the signed slip.

 

[Mtnman44]

Keep in mind that as a consumer you are nearly fully protected in the event of a skimmed card, stolen card, etc. You may have the minor inconvience of reporting a lost card or disputing charges, but you will not suffer a loss. The banks and merchants ultimately take the hit (which we all pay for eventually).

So, while this type of crime is prevelant, you have no real personal financial risk in using your Credit Card. Naturally it is in your best interest to be smart about it and use good judgement but I prefer carrying and using a card (NOT DEBIT) over cash almost all the time.

As mentioned earlier, I never allow my room key to be activated for charging. I have easy options available to me to dispute fraudulent charges on my credit card and am protected under law. How I would dispute charges on my KTTW card, I'm not so sure....