Be on the lookout for credit card skimmers in The Netherlands

by Scott Carmichael on

Dutch public transit user Paul Wiegmans noticed something strange when he tried to purchase a tram ticket from a machine in Amsterdam; the card slot looked a little out of the ordinary.

When he took a closer look, he discovered a so called “skimmer” had been placed over the original card reader. Skimmers are devices that read your credit card information at the same time the real reader does its work.

Skimmers have been used in restaurants and other locations for years, but this is one of the first I’ve ever seen where the unit was attached to a ticketing machine.

The skimmer reads the information stored on your card, and a small camera keeps an eye on the number pad, in order to capture your pin code.
Paul wrote a nice description of how the skimmer works (Dutch, translated version here). Even if you don’t understand what any of this means, the photos will give a pretty good indication just how smart and sleazy these thieves are.

The transit agencies are aware of the problem, and have asked their staff to keep an eye on the machines while they work on a long term solution.

If you use a credit card machine, always be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, if in doubt, don’t swipe!

The only good news is that your credit card company will usually be quite accommodating if fraud is detected, especially since many of these stolen credit card numbers will be used abroad for “out of the ordinary” transactions.

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Visa Wins Big at Olympics

by Josh Lew on

Visa wanted to use the Olympics to get its foot firmly in the door in Beijing. The results are good so far. The credit card giant has been almost as dominant as the US men’s basketball squad.

Visa started preparations well before The Games. They helped over 200,000 merchants become Visa-ready and installed nearly 90,000 ATMs country-wide.

So who is plopping down the plastic in China’s largely cash-based society? Americans, who else? Visa claims that nearly 20% of the revenue on the first day of the Olympics came from consumers from the US. Japanese were the second largest group of users, accounting for 13% of the day one total.

Visa is using the Olympics to get itself in good position for the future in China. But is China benefiting from the wider use of plastic? Small and medium-sized retail businesses are probably seeing immediate results with the souvenir-happy tourists who have descended on Beijing. Visa claimed that there were $10 million worth of sales on day one alone. That’s $10 million dollars into the local economy.

Talk about laughing all the way to the bank. China won’t be laughing in the future when it finds that domestic credit card debt is on the rise, but for now, unlike the Olympic events themselves, in the credit card game, everyone is a winner.

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Hotel charges: Using debit cards for incidentals can freeze your money

by Jeffrey White on

Thinking of slapping down that debit card for incidental hotel charges? Maybe you should think again.

It’s a common practice for hotels to put a “hold” on whatever card you turn over to them, to cover not only those incidentals (mini bar, in room movies, etc) but to insure that you don’t bolt without settling up.

When you use a credit card, that hold — as little as $50 a night but usually more in the $100-$150 ballpark — is charged and then credited back. But of course when you use a debit card, the hold effectively freezes money in your checking account, and you cannot access it. It’s like you spent the money – and sometimes you’ll have to wait days, or as long as a week, for the hotel’s accounting office to get around to lifting that hold.

Understandably, this takes some customers by surprise: They find themselves at dinner or out shopping, they go to pay with their debit card, and they have their card rejected for “insufficient funds.” Since a lot of people keep their checking accounts on the lower end, it’s possible to find yourself flat broke thanks to a hotel tying up $300-$500 of your cash.

Hotels are increasingly requiring credit cards for their holds in an effort to avoid customers angry at not having access to their money. While it is obviously possible for a hotel hold to lead to you exceeding your credit limit, most people’s credit card limits are considerably higher than their checking account balances.

USA Today has an interesting article on travelers who’ve had their money frozen by hotels. The advice seems simple: Use credit cards whenever you can.

Credit card fees: Purchases overseas will cost you; know how much before you travel

by Jeffrey White on

I’m sitting right now at the spanking new airport in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, having just finished a simple breakfast and a cup of coffee for which I paid with credit card.

Credit cards are growing more accepted in an increasing number of countries around the world (though, strangely, not in Germany, the world’s third largest economy). More than ever before, you can reach for the plastic to cover pretty much all of your foreign purchases, not only in well-heeled tourist haunts like Rome and Paris, but in the darker corners of eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, to name a few. This is a nice option for those averse to carrying large amounts of foreign currency in their pockets while traveling.

Of course, CCs will hit you with a fee for every international purchase you make (some — like Bank of America — in the form of a specific line item on your monthly billing statement, others worked into the exchange rate you’re given on the purchase itself).

Just how much varies with the card policy and the card’s issuing bank. Typically it hovers around 3 percent, with the Visa, Mastercard et. al. taking maybe taking 1 percent of that and the issuing bank the rest.

It’s a good idea to know what your card policy for international purchases before you head overseas, so you’re not surprised when the monthly bill comes, and because, if you’re a frequent traveler, you can shop around for a card offering a better fee structure.

Want to know how your card stacks up? This is a good comparison chart offered at Bankrate.com that was accurate through December 2007. You can also call your credit card company directly and get more updated rates.

How to get your piece of a $336 million settlement if you’ve used an American credit card abroad

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’re an American and have used your MasterCard, Visa or Diners Club card to make purchases in a foreign country, you’ve probably just received in the mail the same thing I did a few days ago: a settlement letter from the US District Court.

It turns out that American credit card companies collectively decided upon a “Foreign Transaction” fee of 1-3% for every purchase made in another country. According to a recent class action lawsuit, this is in violation of antitrust laws. But that’s not all. The credit companies then decided to bury the fee by not disclosing it on billing statements. Very bad!

When furious cardholders finally discovered this, they fought back and won a $336 million settlement. What does this mean to you? If you’ve traveled abroad and used your credit card between February 1, 1996 to November 8, 2006, that makes you eligible for part of the settlement.

Card holders can choose between three options:

1. Easy Refund: a quick $25 in your pocket regardless of what you spent.
2. Total Estimation Refund: This is 1% of your estimated foreign transactions providing you spent a minimum of $2,500 aboard
3. Annual Estimated Refund: This is only available if you’ve had “extensive foreign travel or foreign transactions” and are willing to provide “year-by-year information.” Refunds will range from 1-3%.

This won’t stop the fees in the future, however. They will still exist, and be called out on your statement. One option to avoid this, however, is to opt for the Capital One card which doesn’t charge such fees and, as a result, the company is breathing a heavy sigh of relief for not being included in the $336 million settlement.

Related: Hidden Credit Card Charges