My husband and I recently took a cruise on the Celebrity Constellation, beginning and ending in Dover, England, between the dates of September 1-September 15. I discovered yesterday that there were 58 withdrawals made on our accounts in the London area - after we had left England. The only place that our ATM information could have been obtained was on the Constellation. Has anyone esle had a similar experience - on a Celebrity ship or on any other?

How did you use your ATM card while on board?

You've not used the card anywhere else?

(Even w/ contacting them about your itinerary - I can't believe any bank would leave an ATM active w/ 58 withdrawals over such a short period. They usually freeze the account when there is that sort of activity)

I'm trying to think how they would get the PIN..

We used our debit cards to withdraw cash for cabs in London. I withdrew money once in London; my husband used his only on the ship. My bank said that most likely way the PIN was stolen was by taking pictures of us using the ATM with a hand-held camera or with one set up in advance.

Were they cash withdrawals or point of sale purchases? If they were purchases, then the thief wouldn't need the PIN - just card number and expiration. If they were cash withdrawals, then I believe that the card and PIN are required.

I don't understand how you say the debit card info it could only have been obtained on the Constellation. If you used your card in London, isn't it possible that it was compromised there, rather than on the ship?

What is your bank? I'd sure want to avoid a bank that allowed an average of 4 ATM withdrawals per day every day for two weeks! Didn't that trigger anything with them? Out of curiosity, how big were these withdrawals?

There was a scam in my city a year or two ago where fake "atm booths" were set up, looking just like a real one. You'd go in, they would electronically take your card info and your pin (via camera I believe). The machine would tell you something like "network down" , you'd leave, they would be set to go.

For someone to access you account, I would think they would need both an electronic scan of your card AND your PIN.

wow, that is a lot of withdrawals. I don't understand how those scams work -- even if someone took a photo of you using your card, and thus got our PIN, how could they physically create a card with that magnetic strip to use that would be just like yours?

My ATM card is so old, the number on it is kind of worn off, so I don't think you could read the number in a photo (I can't hardly read one end of it), and even if you knew the number, doesn't your bank have some personal info on that strip? Maybe they are generic strips, that's what I wondered.

Christine,
See http://www.proximalconsulting.com/Pa...TM%20Fraud.htm for how the scam works. At the bottom of the page click on pictures to see a photo of the change on the machine.

Henry

Make sure whenever you use an ATM to cover up the keypad when punching in your PIN...that way the vermin cannot take a picture of it or your binocs from afar to see it......

RmKelly, I hope you'll get your money back! It's horrible.

Still...someone had to get a swipe of the card. And if it never left their hands...machine must have been rigged.

I'd get a record of where it was used (branch in London, machine on Deck xxx of ship), on what date and times, and then report back to the bank and cruiseline.

I'm still wondering physically how it works. Henry, thank you for the story, but that story only explains how someone could see your PIN by looking over your shoulder, and then stealing your physical card. There is no explanation of how you could do a scam without having the physical card.

The OP did not lose their card, apparently, so that's what I don't understand.

Christina,
Click on the see a picture line at the bottom of the page.

Henry

Christina, there is a small device used, like when you swipe your card in a store, the same way it's swiped in that device, after that the info could be copied on a fraudulent plastic.

Christina,
Here is a direct link http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/atmcamera.asp

Henry

Hi RM,

>We used our debit cards to withdraw cash...

A. Someone rigged the ATM machine to read your card info and PIN

This would allow them to make cash withdrawals using a fake card.

B. Someone photographed your debit card and made purchases using your card number and didn't need a PIN.

Was the fraud on your card on on DH's card?

It happened to me 4 years ago. My card never left my purse. There were three withdrawals made on my account, one in France (Interflora flower shop) one in Ireland (4 hotel nights) and one in England (phone calls. The bank refunded me and gave me a new card. Their only explanation was that there are softwares which "try" card numbers at random...