enzian

I just saw a post (on another travel board) by someone whose bank (Wilmington Trust in Delaware) notified them that ATM card use in Italy has been suspended for at least a week. Also saw this article posted by someone here regarding fraudulent use of Citibank cards: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11714119/

I hate to be spreading rumors---is something actually going on?

francophile03

That's nice of Citibank to not notify the customers whose cards would be useless overseas. But I am not surprised of their lack of customer service.

FainaAgain

For me it all started with a post on Frommer's about Wells Fargo ATM fraud in some countries. Don't know what to say... Called Citibank, they assured my card will work in Israel.

Although I'm flying out tomorrow, can't assure I'll be posting while on the road. Try to call your bank. It may differ from bank to bank.

enzian

I don't Isreal was included in the area of fraudulent activity. I remember reading how excited you are about this trip, FainaAgain. Have a great time. I look forward to your report when you return!

LoveItaly

Last year or the year before I believe, Morgan Stanley advised all their customers until further notice their ATM cards would not work in Italy due to fraud issues. Call the financial institution that your ATM card is with..get the info straight from them.

enzian

We are actually not headed to Italy in the near future. I just wondered if this is something others should be concerned about. It sounds like this situation has occurred before?

Statia

Are you saying that nobody in Italy can use an ATM machine for a week? That can't be so. That wouldn't make sense. Gosh, I hope not as I'm leaving for Italy in 6 days.

Anyone else have any further info?

LaraM

I don't have any info on ATM cards...However I'd just like to spread the helpful hint to have your credit card company's contact info on hand and a second payment card. I was in Italy last year and before leaving had called and informed Citibank that I would be using my credit card in Europe. Five days into my trip my card was declined at my hotel. We couldn't call Citibank because of the time difference but luckily the hotel had internet access and I had memorized all my passwords to contact the bank that way. Citibank had seen the overseas activity and when they couldn't contact me at home they turned off my card assuming it had been stolen. I applaud their crime stopping vigilence but since I had notified them of my trip it was annoying to have two hours taken out of my day fixing the situation. I'm just glad the problem occurred at the hotel and not in a restaurant!

enzian

Statia---call you bank and ask them. As LaraM mentioned, it is important to notify your bank that you will be using the card overseas in any case. If you find out anything related to AtM suspension, will you come back and report? Thanks.

LoveItaly

Statia, noone is saying that everybody cannot use their ATM's cards in Italy for a week.

You will want to call the financial institution that your ATM card is with to let them know the dates that you will be in Italy. One should always do the same with the credit card companies when they are going on a trip (whether across the US or internationally).

Enzian was stating that Wilimington Trust in Delaware notified a friend that ATM card use in Italy has been suspended for a week. And evidently some Citibank cards have the same problem (did not read the website that enzian provided).

A year, or maybe two years ago, Morgan Stanley also adivsed their customers that due to fraud problems they would not be able to use their ATM's cards in Italy until further notice.

Again, do call your financial institution that issued your ATM card. And it is always a very good idea to have an additional ATM card with a complete different financial institution when travelling. Also, anothe reason I like taking some money with me for the country I will be arriving in, even if it does cost a bit more.

LoveItaly

And Statis, do read the website that enzian provided, I just did. Calling your finacial institution is not a guarantee that all will be well when travelling evidently. Another reason why it is a good idea to have another ATM card with another financial institution.

Neopolitan

LaraM, I'm surprised when you say you couldn't call Citibank due to the time difference. The number on the back of their card is valid 24 hours a day. When I had a problem and called them from London it was 4 AM New Year's Day in New York (not sure where I was calling)!

xyz123

...and you must understand that when you call Citibank customer service, you will be talking, most likely, to somebody in India as Citibank has outsourced all its customer service to India and you will be talking to people who know the answers to whatever it says in their books but don't have a clue, in many cases, to normal things we take for granted in America.

For example, on the airline board, somebody told the story of calling one of these customer service reps and asking if there is an additional 3% charge on purchases made in Hawaii and the genius said absolutely all foreign transactions are subject to this 3% charge....

Myself whenever I call Citibank customer service the first thing I ask is where the rep is located and as soon as he or she invariably says India, I insist on speaking to somebody in the United States. There are plenty of people in the United States out of work who can do these jobs just as well as these folks in India.

Statia

I always take two ATM cards and two credit cards to Europe, along with euros for arrival, and I always call my financial institutions to give them my dates of travel. I have never had a problem with using any of my cards abroad and don't anticipate to this time. I've been told that everything is fine for my travels, but I will call on my ATM cards again the day before I leave just to be sure.

The reason I thought the OP meant all of Italy is because of the statement "notified them that ATM card use in Italy has been suspended for at least a week." I guess they must have meant for that bank or person only, but I took it as all of Italy. That's what I get for reading too fast.

I don't anticipate a problem because I have banked at the same credit union for over 15 years and they know me. But, I hesitate to "never say never," so I always make sure I have back up options. As a matter of fact, my family traveling with me this time thinks I'm a little paranoid about having back up options, but they haven't heard the horror stories I have over the years.

Maddy

There's an article in the NY Times business section today regarding Citi and other banks (BofA, Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual are named) blocking use of debit cards at ATMS in Canada, Britain and Russia. The article quotes banking sources as saying that debit card info was obtained from a security breach at OfficeMax. OfficeMax denies responsibility.

(I tried to provide the link to the article here but when I try to paste it into my reply for some reason it duplicates and I'm afraid it might screw up the column). If you want to read the whole article do a google search on the title "Citigroup blocks cards in 3 nations"

Lovejoy

Here is a link for more Info on the OfficeMax debit card security leak.The article states that it has affected up to 200,000 customers.
http://tinyurl.com/mahrs

nonnafelice

The Wall St Journal had a similar article, but they said other retailers besides Office Max may be involved in the security problem that has led at least 3 banks to cancel debit/ATM cards.

"Only 17% of 231 large merchants have complied with card-industry guidelines that are designed to curb fraudulent activity and reduce the potential for criminals to hack into computer networks, according to data from Visa USA Inc., which wouldn't identify the retailers."

Maddy, the double link only shows up in preview mode. When you actually post the message, it appears correctly.

LCBoniti

Statia -
I used my Wells Fargo ATM card in Rome and Florence during the last two weeks of February with no problem (except, as I noted in a different thread, the machine did not want to give me as much money as I requested even tho' it was far below my daily w/d limit. I just figured that God and the Italian banking system were conspiring to keep me on budget. )

I had a letter in the mail from WF this week questioning the activity on my account, even tho' I had called and let them know I would be traveling. I called this am to clear it up and that was all.

Have a wonderful trip!
Linda

LoveItaly

Statia, Morgan Stanley sent a letter some time ago (year before last I believe) stating that until further notice their ATM cards would not be valid in Italy due to crime problems. I talked to customer service and MS cancelled all of their customer's ATM's card and reissued new ones. So if I had been in Italy at the time that would have been a problem except for the fact that I too have two ATM cards (Morgan Stanley and my local bank). If both ATM cards had been cancelled for some reason I would have used one of my credit cards to get cash, I would have called my daughter and immediately had her send a check to that credit card company to cover the cash withdrawal so the interest I paid would have been very little. This is why I always leave checkbooks with her and have her name for signature on my accounts.

It is good to have backup plans. And always get the phone #'s of financial institutions and your bank's that you can reach from Italy or whatever you travel to versus the 800 numbers as 800 numbers cannot be reached from Italy, and I would imagine that is true anywhere out of the US.

And have a wonderful trip. Imagine you are counting the hours until you all meet in Rome.

Budman

Last time I was in Italy, Autoeurope told me if I had a problem with the rental car agency (Avis) to have them call the 800 number. So, I'm sure there's now a way to call 800 numbers from Italy to the States.