Question on credit card charges upon check in

[erionm]

With the CC readers in place on the counters at the front desk, there should be no reason to hand the CM your CC. If they need the information, they should have you insert it into the reader.

 

[Lashed34]

OP, yes, I've had my credit card number stolen while at a WDW resort. Call the other hotel today and find out what the charge is for and who authorized it. Check to see if it is still showing on your account before you call.

The best advice. Always follow up by calling where a charge was made because further transactions may be made & probably will be if someone's making illegal charges to a credit card.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Y'all have short memories.

https://nypost.com/2019/08/13/ex-disney-world-worker-busted-for-stealing-from-employee-locker-room/https://mydisneydorks.com/2018/02/02/credit-card-fraud-operation-broken-up-on-disney-world-property/https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...7E06025FE45B61F159D17E06025FE45B61F&FORM=VIREhttps://www.wesh.com/article/disney-hotel-clerk-accused-of-stealing-nearly-49k/25574122#

yes, it can and does happen. WDW is no different form anywhere else in that respect, but given the time frame that this happened and the scenario he described it's highly unlikely that the employee did it in this situation.

 

[AngiTN]

I don't think anyone thinks that a card can't be compromised at Disney. Only that THIS particular instance was not a case of it happening at Disney.
Now, this does bring up a good point

With the CC readers in place on the counters at the front desk, there should be no reason to hand the CM your CC. If they need the information, they should have you insert it into the reader.

Now that you bring it up, I am the one that scans my card, not the CM. The CM never touches it at all. If the CM insisted they take the card, that is suspect and requires more scrutiny

 

[kaytieeldr]

The first story @Searc linked is an employee stealing from other employees by breaking into their lockers. The second link starts by reporting, "A former front-desk clerk at Walt Disney World is accused of making more than $48,000 in fake credit-card refunds that he transferred to himself."

There are dishonest people everywhere, but neither of these thefts is indicative of a CM charging something to a customer's card just before the legitimate, authorized transaction.

Maybe RFID isn't as secure as we think.

 

[kylenne]

Yes, I usually check in online, but made a TouringPlans room request before I had done it, so didn’t want it overwritten.

Just so you know for the future, you’re still able to do online check in if you use the Touring Plans room request service. Just make sure the room request you make on it doesn’t contradict the one you made through Touring Plans. I do this every trip with no problems.

As for your card...I used to work in Fraud at a major cc company, and typically you don’t see large charges like a hotel reservation right off the bat with actual fraud—cc thieves tend to make a couple of small purchases here and there as test runs first, most commonly at gas stations. I’m more likely to think it was a mistake by the Wyndham clerk with transposing numbers, but there’s not enough information. The thing is, your card could have been compromised anywhere. A lot of fraud comes from black market trade of personal data obtained in breaches and sold in mass quantities. I would also caution against thinking RFID blocking is a magic bullet.

But this sort of thing is why I recommend people utilize all of the alerts that modern bank apps offer nowadays. If a fraudulent charge manages to slip past an issuer’s fraud detection algorithm, you still have instant notice that something is wrong.

 

[KMarston]

I’m interested to see how it pans out for OP.

I had my debit card compromised while on a trip to Orlando. We didn’t stay at a WDW hotel but I used my card for delivery from Tu Tu Tango who delivered to the resort pool. That’s where I figured it came from. Didn’t realize it until the statement came in.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

Were they the exact same amounts? I remember having a weird charge about the time of my check in that was related to a bar charge in Disney Springs that was coded oddly.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Thanks. It’s frustrating for sure. This was actually the first time it had been used. It’s all very suspicious, the timing between transactions was only 2 minutes apart and were both during the time I was at the Front desk. The employee had the card for a longer period than usual as I had not checked in online like I usually do so I didn’t pay special attention.

The very first time? No other transactions what so ever at all! No online transactions, such as putting a deposit on your disney vacation? Absolutely no one else ever handled or saw that card in any way? If that is truly the case (I'm not doubting just trying to follow your timeline) then there was NO other way for a criminal, cyber or otherwise, to get your info. So that would definately make one wonder.

 

[AngiTN]

The very first time? No other transactions what so ever at all! No online transactions, such as putting a deposit on your disney vacation? Absolutely no one else ever handled or saw that card in any way? If that is truly the case (I'm not doubting just trying to follow your timeline) then there was NO other way for a criminal, cyber or otherwise, to get your info. So that would definately make one wonder.

That's incorrect.
They can obtain entire runs of numbers before cards even go out and try them in hopes that they strike an active one.
There are several ways to grab a card number prior to first use. Not common but possible.
And there's always just a typo as others have mentioned.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

The AKL front desk can't identify the transaction because the Wyndham is NOT a Disney owned & operated resort.
[/QU

That's incorrect.
They can obtain entire runs of numbers before cards even go out and try them in hopes that they strike an active one.
There are several ways to grab a card number prior to first use. Not common but possible.
And there's always just a typo as others have mentioned.

They grabbed a random number in hopes it will work. The odds that they grabbed a random number, it worked, and it just so happened that it was used at a establishment only a few miles from where the OP was within minutes of his transaction at Disney. Those would have to be the biggest odds in the history of the world. Not arguing your analysis just tossing up reasonable doubt.