I spent week #14 in Aruba. Great week of fun and relaxation. Will definately be back. One problem that happened is that my VISA Credit card was cloned while I was there. I used it for many meals so I can't say where it happened. I will us cash from now on.

I'm not sure if I no what this means. Can you give more details. If you find out where it did happen, please let us know. Thanks

Cloned? HMMM What does that mean exactly? Do you mean the numbers were copied and re-used without your permission?


charles
arubafastphones.com

I had a friend that this happened to, just last month. This is the new scam out there. On the back of the hotel cards they have the black scan line like your credit cards do. When you check in they scan your credit card and also scan the room card and will scan your credit card information on the back of the room cards. When you check out, who ever has that card, can start charging away. When my friend got home from his vacation, he got a call from his bank and wanted to know if he had made these charges and he freaked out.

So Brian,
Where did you stay?

There is a new trick that is out there that you may want to look out for. There is a devise that can be put into an ATM credit card slot that fits perfectly and allows the users card to slip in. This device is a recornig device and will copy any card number , including pin number that activates it. When a bad guy goes into the ATM, he puts in the devise and then waits outside as if frustrated. When the ligit user goes into the ATM machine and slips in his card, it acts as if it does not work. The bad guy knocks on the door and signals to you that the machine is broken. YOu go out and he explains that he had trouble himself. He then walks away with you so that you can not acuse him of having been the bad guy. Right behind the bad guy, another bad guy goes into the ATM and pulls out the recording devise and scans it into a small handheld machine that copies the code on the magnetic strip of a dummy card. The pin number shows up on a small screen device. They then reap havoc with your card and seem legit since they have PIN number and all. The device they slip into the ATM credit card slot looks alot like a wide piece of tape and can be noticed by two black pieces of strip that ate there for the bad guys to retrieve the device when they are ready to pull it out.

Neat trick and, aside from being vbery alert, is currently defensless. Good thing is that this is mainly used in the USA and not in the Caribbean.

charles
arubafastphones.com