Warning! We had a theft last week!

[wehavesix]

Ok, I know people are the same everywhere and this is no reflection on Disney. I just want to remind everyone to be smarter than we were last week. Two of our credit card accounts were compromised. Since neither card is missing, we think the thief simply took the needed info off the cards. The cards were in my husband's wallet which was in a bag but not locked up. The charges were made in a town in Fla. for large sums at a Home Depot. Fortunately the fraud departments with the credit companies did their jobs and caught it quickly. So tonight is being spent canceling any cards in our wallets just to be sure. We won't make the mistake of not locking them up again.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Glad it was cought in time. What a pain, but you are right. It can happen anywhere. Remember to take advantage of the in room safe.

 

[lilpooh108]

Is this the same card you swiped at the front desk when you checked in?

There were issues last year with (I believe) SSR and some front desk CM was stealing CC numbers when people checking in were putting cards down on their room key...There was an article in the Orlando Sentinel and some threads on this subject. I think that CM was arrested.

 

[Sammie]

Nowadays, there is absolutely very little chance of knowing when and how it was taken.

We have had it happen many times and never were able to trace it.

All you can do is monitor your accounts closely and act quickly if you find something that is not yours.

 

[wehavesix]

Is this the same card you swiped at the front desk when you checked in?

There were issues last year with (I believe) SSR and some front desk CM was stealing CC numbers when people checking in were putting cards down on their room key...There was an article in the Orlando Sentinel and some threads on this subject. I think that CM was arrested.

No. The card that was swiped at check in was with us all the time. These were cards that are only used occasionally for specific purposes. In fact, we don't carry balances on those cards. It's pretty evident that at some point someone entered our villa and took the info from the cards but left the actual cards.

 

[Sammie]

No. The card that was swiped at check in was with us all the time. These were cards that are only used occasionally for specific purposes. In fact, we don't carry balances on those cards. It's pretty evident that at some point someone entered our villa and took the info from the cards but left the actual cards.

Curious as to how that is evident. Could you tell your things had been gone through.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

They make you think they are doing you the favor by the fraud department catching this. In reality, they are doing themselves the favor. If your card is compromised you will never owe a dime.

MG

 

[js]

I have had my credit card numbers stolen twice in different years.
It always started after I gave my information for booking to Disney and the other time was after check in at Disney.
I remember talking about this last year after it happened to someone else.
All my charges were in Florida and some flights were also made.
Most were Cheesecake Factory , Payless and a few others where I thought if they had a stolen card, they could have done better
Glad you found out.

 

[jerseygal]

What DVC property were you at? Did you report the incident to the front desk of that property?

I'm sure you fully realize this, but in my opinion, no valuables should be left in the room without being fully secured!

Sorry that it had to happen to you!

 

[wehavesix]

We were at BCV. We didn't know there was a problem until late today when we were contacted by the cc company. DH called to report it to BCV but the correct office closed at 4:30pm. We will report it because if there is a pattern of this kind of theft, maybe it will help them pinpoint the culprit(s).

As for why we think someone came into our villa: Of course we have no proof of that other than circumstantial evidence. The cards are rarely used and only for specific purposes so do not leave our possession often. They were not used by us recently and even have no balances on them. Both were used in a town near WDW at the same store for the same amounts on each acct. The ONLY time these were left unattended was in our villa last week. I know it wouldn't hold up in court but that's my best guess. Too much of a coincidence for me to think otherwise.

 

[Sammie]

We were at BCV. We didn't know there was a problem until late today when we were contacted by the cc company. DH called to report it to BCV but the correct office closed at 4:30pm. We will report it because if there is a pattern of this kind of theft, maybe it will help them pinpoint the culprit(s).

As for why we think someone came into our villa: Of course we have no proof of that other than circumstantial evidence. The cards are rarely used and only for specific purposes so do not leave our possession often. They were not used by us recently and even have no balances on them. Both were used in a town near WDW at the same store for the same amounts on each acct. The ONLY time these were left unattended was in our villa last week. I know it wouldn't hold up in court but that's my best guess. Too much of a coincidence for me to think otherwise.

You do realize that the thief never has to have the card in their possession to steal the info on it.

We had one that had NEVER been used and was locked in our safe at home.

 

[alanapapa]

We were at BCV. We didn't know there was a problem until late today when we were contacted by the cc company. DH called to report it to BCV but the correct office closed at 4:30pm. We will report it because if there is a pattern of this kind of theft, maybe it will help them pinpoint the culprit(s).

As for why we think someone came into our villa: Of course we have no proof of that other than circumstantial evidence. The cards are rarely used and only for specific purposes so do not leave our possession often. They were not used by us recently and even have no balances on them. Both were used in a town near WDW at the same store for the same amounts on each acct. The ONLY time these were left unattended was in our villa last week. I know it wouldn't hold up in court but that's my best guess. Too much of a coincidence for me to think otherwise.

You do realize that the thief never has to have the card in their possession to steal the info on it.

We had one that had NEVER been used and was locked in our safe at home.

There are some card readers that do not have to be in contact with the card to get the acct info, all the thief has to do is scan your purse or pocket.

 

[dianeschlicht]

There are some card readers that do not have to be in contact with the card to get the acct info, all the thief has to do is scan your purse or pocket.

Yes, and that is why I now carry the metal wallets. The cards can't be scanned through them.

 

[dkostel]

I saw a story on the news where a guy was sitting at a table in Starbucks and with the right device had about 10 card #s in 15 minutes. Whoever thought that technology was a good idea? I mean is it that hard to swipe a card through a reader, rather than hold it up to one?
Also there were stories of readers (different kind) inside of gas pumps stealing #s. It can happen anywhere and they don't need to see the card any more.

 

[Brian Noble]

Nowadays, there is absolutely very little chance of knowing when and how it was taken.

This is exactly right. And, really, it almost doesn't matter when and how it was taken. That said, it is always prudent to use the room safe for any valuables when you are not occupying the room.

There are some card readers that do not have to be in contact with the card to get the acct info, all the thief has to do is scan your purse or pocket.

I believe this only applies to the smart-card-style cards (the ones you can tap/wave at checkout). They use something called RFID (radio frequency identification) that is designed to be read from a short distance away. I'm not aware that a magstripe-only card can be read at any significant distance, at least not yet.

Diane: I agree with you. It's not like swiping is all that hard.

One more interesting tidbit: the new passports also have RFID tags.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

One more interesting tidbit: the new passports also have RFID tags.

You mean the one's the government deemed "unhackable", and were hacked in 37 seconds at the latest black hat conference?

 

[cruisedad]

The last time we stayed at Boardwalk we had our truck broken into in the self parking lot. It happened sometime after we went in to the lobby to check in at the resort. Whoever did it was pretty good and used a lock punch to take out the door lock. The truck was gone through but nothing was taken. Whatever they were looking for they didn't find. There was nothing of value in the truck.

 

[cm8]

The last time we stayed at Boardwalk we had our truck broken into in the self parking lot. It happened sometime after we went in to the lobby to check in at the resort. Whoever did it was pretty good and used a lock punch to take out the door lock. The truck was gone through but nothing was taken. Whatever they were looking for they didn't find. There was nothing of value in the truck.

I would have been so , It's like they had to be watching you while you were there. OP, we had a CC being used on in Florida as well while we were on Vacation. I ALWAYS lock them in the safe and this time when we arrived back to our room, the safe was OPEN We contacted the FD and was told someone would call us back. Nothing was missing so we thought but later one of the CC's were being used and we had a fraud block placed on it. We decided to cancel the rest of them in case they are going to try and use those as well. Our Patio door was also Left unlock that same day too

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

, thank you op for coming forward.

note, we were there over the holidays & one night we had
a surprise/strange visitor that walked in on us. now the official
dvc response was a "turn down " offer. however, when we
called the desk , they were not aware. also we have done
several dcl cruises. we are familiar with turn down services,& this
was strange in being so late [ we were already, "ready"
to go to bed.] he tap lightly & before i could get to the door,
he was waking on in .& he had a very surprise look on his face.

now reading about your problem, makes me wonder. also there
were other things we saw going on late @ night that "caught
our attentions" for safety.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I agree you never know when and where. 2 months ago I had my cc information stolen. And it was in my possession at the time. My cc company called me and asked if I had made an online purchase. It was a small amount, but who ever stole my information was testing to see if they could actually get away with it.