Have i done a stupid thing?
 

So i am booking thru Tonkin part of my trip to Vietnam. (as many have on this board) and i need to pay the $200 deposit (which considering i use ££ i knew there would be yet another currency conversion charge.) Anyhow when i checked out Western union for £145 transfer it was going to cost me £21 so i thought NO way and Nhung said i could pay by CC and it would cost me 3% so around £3.50 BUT i had to send a copy of my CC and passport. Which i was a bit worried about but i read on TA that some one else had done this too AND as Tonkin are a reputable company i sent a scan of my card (via fax) and Nhung agreed to destroy all details once the payment went thru.
I have just read a thread on TA that this goes against CC etiquette and they shouldn't have asked me for it!!! now i'm worried (although i kind of figure i would be insured if anything went wrong and i signed for them to take $200 only)
should i not have done that and were they wrong to ask me for it?

I will pay the remaining balance by bank transfer but wanted your thoughts
Oh and to top it off Jasmine and Ginger Junks are booked out for the day i want..... so i have booked Valentine instead!

Smeagol, I hope this has a happy ending.

When you make an on-line payment with your credit card, you always provide the card details anyway so nothing new with that. But copy of your passport also......well, I've never had to do that. Did you send both sides of your card?

I too, would feel a little uncomfortable with this arrangement, but maybe others will be able to put your mind at rest.

Once again, I hope this has a happy ending.

YEP both sides.... i know i know, the more i think about it... BUT i would never had done it if it was a company i knew NOTHING about but many people on this board have used them... now i am worried though (more if my details were stolen by someone lese but she assured me they would be destroyed as soon as the payment went through..
I am going to email her now!!!!

It is a common practice in SE Asia to ask for a scan of both sides of a credit card. Yes, it made me nervous the first time I did it, and I've only done so a couple of times (and only with companies well-recommended by people I know). I've never had any problems as a result of this. I can't remember providing my passport, but I may have been asked for the passport info.

I think you're fine.

I, too, had that request (copy of credit card and passport) made to me by another company in Vietnam. I believe it was TNK. Trusted the Company and had no problem. I paid the balance in Vietnam.

Don't worry about it. This is standard procedure. Also, the Valentine is a very nice ship. Even if you get bumped to one of the others in Indochina Sail's fleet, you'll be fine.

Ditto, Smeagol...we had to do the same thing for our Halong cruise. Seemed a bit weird, but it ended up being absolutely fine. No worries...shift all that energy back to being so excited for your trip!

Don't stress. I did this too, with Tonkin last month. Many others have done the same. They are reputable.
Just to be safe, I used a CC which I rarely use. It's had nothing else charged on it so far.

What I don't understand is why they can't take the info over the phone like my hotel did (via skype). My hotel (Elegance 4) was able to charge my card without copies of everything, but Tonkin said their bank would not allow it.

Bless you all i fell A LOT better. Muffin even suggested that if my identity was cloned the fraudsters wold spend a lot less on my card than i do a month... how rude!
Off now to sort out my (fake) tan, going to Corsica tomorrow!! (too much info?)

i do this all the time....sometimes if i am worried i send 1/2 of it in one e mail and 1/2 in another e mail...

Smeagol, just because the company is reputable and others have had no problems does not mean that you won't. Frauds are perpetrated by people not companies and who is to say that a new and crooked employee has not just been employed. That said, all hotels in VN will take a copy of passport on check in so it really is not that different to faxing copies. At least you faxed rather than emailed which is just asking for trouble.

If you are at all worried why not call your bank an request another card? That way the number and security code will be changed preventing unauthoried use of your card.

If there were a problem then then as a UK cardholder you are generally protected by law provided you do not disclose any info which could faciliate a fraud which, I suppose the bank could/would argue in this case.

I had a similar problem in BKK when I picked up a rental car from the airport car park. The delivery driver took an imprint of my card and then wanted to take a digital photo of my passport and both sides of my cc. There was no way he was going to let me have the car without this so I went ahead and then the next day phoned the bank to cancel card advising them of the amount and date of this last transaction.

OK slightly worried again as when i faxed over all my details, she couldnt read the card so i emailed the scan of my card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i know totally dumb) but am hoping that at least passport and CC were not sent together and this may help! I was thinking if anything happens i would be covered but Crell has made me concerened i could be in breach of insurance... think i will wait for pmt to go through and then cancel card!!!! Jeez and work in finance!

Again, don't stress. I emailed them everything. No problems.

On the other hand, I had fraudulent activity on a different card used right here in the US recently. Never left my or husband's possession, and not used online for a long time. BUT, it was used at a gas station in a US/Mexico border town (US side) and then right after, 3 charges showed up 3000 miles away! Thank God Citibank has a good fraud alert system.

Kristina Many thanks for responding poor old nhung at Tonkin she must think i am a fruit loop!!!
Am not going to stress about this anymore, am of to France......
be back on fodors next week.

You're going to be broke in a matter of moments. Thousands of one, two and three dollar transactions are goinf to pop up on your credit card. Smeagol's alias will be caught smuggling liquor into Thailand. She will be placed on the "no fly" list and Muffin will have to go to Vietnam by himself. Have I listed all of your anxieties?

just tell them you know bob and all will be well

We used Tonkin also, and we did have to fax the CC info. I don't remember faxing passport too, but we might have. All was fine, Tonkin is dependable.

However, I would NEVER email a scan of credit card or passport! That may have been a mistake. There is a lot of identity theft happening. If I were you I would put a fraud alert on my credit file, and I would call the CC company, to request a new card/number. Email is NOT secure. it goes totally unencrypted through many servers and any hacker (and there are thousands) can intercept email. A fraud alert will prevent anyone from using your info to request new credit cards, etc. in your name. You can do it online or by phone with the 3 major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, etc. The alert lasts for 3 months.

Well, it's been a couple of months now and so far so good. I guess my emails made it past the thousands of hackers without my personal data being stolen. ;-)
On the other hand, my husband used his (different) credit card at a california/mexico town gas station last month and within 24 hours there were 3 bogus charges on the card made in his name 3000 miles away, right here in the US. Go figure.

Thanks guys, so far ok! and maybe it is helped that i faxed my passport but emailed my credit card. I think Nhung at Tonkin must think i am mad as i sent her desperate emails asking for reassurance that my details would be destroyed!! next time i wont be so cheap and i will TT the money!
Kristina - will be interested to hear how your immigration went (did you got the prior approved visa?)and very much look forward to your trip report

Oh and Andy you havent NEARLY covered all my anxieties!!!