ALERT! Some sort of credit card electronic fraud scanning in STT.

Just found this too. Posted a few days ago.
http://www.stthomasblog.com

It's been happening to visitors throughout the USVI recently and in locations throughout the US and the world for a couple of months. It seems the faster the issuing companies plug one hole a new one opens up.

I believe that the entire credit card system is compromised in one way or the other. I rarely use my credit card and don't even have a debit card. Stick with cash!

I've never had a problem with any of my cards, and getting a discount every time I use one is handy. Just use your brain and sign up for fraud alerts with your card carrier.

Make that eleven. Capital One called me yesterday to ask if I was currently traveling in Georgia (I was not). Someone had used my card (still in my possession) to buy food and gas (four purchases in the course of 10 minutes). How is this being done???

Cards with RFID chips can be read with a reader while it's in your purse, wallet or pocket without you knowing it's happening. You need a sleeve that blocks the reader from reading the chip in your card.
Wrap the card(s) with aluminum foil until you get one.

its happening on stx also!! i got a call mon. saying someone tried to use my card in virginia.when i called an office to check a purchase,she said i was the 4th person that morning who had the same problem with their cards.

Do you have cards with RFID?

I checked mine (1 with each major card) and none are RFID.

Happening in STX also. I checked my bank account on Monday and saw fraud charges from Georgia. The bank reversed the charges, put a hold on my account and a new card will be issued. I know of at least 15-20 others that this has happened to in the last 10 days.

I travelled with a friend to St John in May, since our return all of mine, and his, CC have been used fraudulantly

WILL BE IN STT ON AUG 3 FOR 15 DAYS PLANNED ON USING CREDIT CARDS OR VISA GIFT CARDS, WONDER IF GIFT CARDS ARE AS EASY TO SCAN AS CC, HATE TO CARRY THAT MUCH CASH. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Crooks these days have all kinds of ways to collect credit card data, including credit card skimmers and malware. There are black markets online where they sell and buy the data, and they create fake cards with it.

From http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/06/card-wash-card-breaches-at-car-washes/ :

“We just wrapped up a case where these kids were coming up from New York, and they were hitting every Target store in the area for $6,500 a whack,” Lavey said. “In one weekday, they did this hitting all Target stores up and down the eastern seaboard. They now have charges pending in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania.”

Given how easy it is to buy stolen cards, encode them onto gift cards and then use those cards to buy goods in big-box stores that can be easily resold for cash, Lavey said he wonders why old-fashioned bank robberies are still a problem.

“Honestly, the fact that we still have bank robberies is sort of perplexing,” he said. “Rob a bank and you’re lucky if you get away with $600. But you can rob a credit card company and all the banks are afraid to have their name associated with a case like this, and they quickly reimburse the victims. And most of the retailers are so afraid of having their name in the press associated with credit card fraud and data breaches that make the job doubly hard for us.”

The cautions you need to exercise with credit cards are as important in your home town as they are here in the USVI. This is NOT an area-specific problem.

Go online and search "credit card scams" and you'll find loads of relevant recent articles on them, along with a lot of helpful advice on how to minimize your card and usage susceptibility to infiltration by intruders.

what is RFID?

what is RFID?

RFID is a chip in the credit card that can be read wirelessly when you make purchases at merchants that have that capability. Instead of swiping your card you hold it near the credit card machine so it can read it. It works kinda like the Mobil Speed Pass that was in use when you bought gas. So the thieves have wireless card readers that can read your card while it's in your pocket. They can hang out in stores and go from victim to victim reading cards one at a time. They upload the credit card info to their computers and voila'! They start duplicating cards or make online purchases until the card is cancelled.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rfid+block+wallet&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=32503505911&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18078167995402562298&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_24ok360vkc_b

I wonder how many people will run out and buy one of these in a panic when they don't even have a RFID credit card?

I wonder how many people will run out and buy one of these in a panic when they don't even have a RFID credit card?

Human nature being what it is,no doubt MANY!

how do you know if you have one of those chips or is it easy to see?

There are different chips, speee1dy. From what I understand, the ones used in CCs are not readable beyond three feet. Then again, a person with a small bag could just walk down main street any island...

edit: the card should have some indicator of having a chip on it

I wonder how many people will run out and buy one of these in a panic when they don't even have a RFID credit card?

Human nature being what it is,no doubt MANY!

Sorry to put it this way to both of you, but RFID chips are reality. The cost of a wallet (mine was $7) that is RFID proof is not worth even evaluating.

I wonder how many people will run out and buy one of these in a panic when they don't even have a RFID credit card?

Human nature being what it is,no doubt MANY!

Sorry to put it this way to both of you, but RFID chips are reality. The cost of a wallet (mine was $7) that is RFID proof is not worth even evaluating.

As I said previously, none of my 4 cards are RFID. So I won't be running out and buying a special wallet or sleeve.

How many of your cards have an RFID chip?

This just happened to my wife and another friend on St Croix. One of the cards was only used at a single location in St Croix. If it was done using a skimmer then we know the location it took place. We could also determine the employee responsible. I'm not sure if we should contact the police or the owner of the location. Maybe some personal reconnaissance. We only figured it out today.

could you please let us know where you think it happened,so we can all be on alert.there have been a lot of us in stx,myself included, and maybe we could have used our cards there also. if you feel uncomfortable on forum,could you please PM me since i have had it happen twice. thanks so much.