The new BofA machines have you do something that is like swiping, in that the card never enters the machine.

So, Snobby - why don't you make it your mission when you're in Venice next month to check out which banks have inside ATMs, and come back and list them for us. Then maybe we'll even be nice to you for a few days :D

MelJ, I am sorry to read this. Thanks for passing along the cautions.

Thin, I'm aware of at least one commercial bank out here (with branches throughout this state and TX) as well as a credit union permitting ATM withdrawals from savings accounts. (Not necessarily money market savings accounts, but savings accounts.)

NYCFoodSnob, I mean, Barbie, tsk, tsk.
<i>It's a well known fact, if your home has been burglarized, your six times more likely to be revisited by the same burglar</i>

And apparently "your" (sic) infinitely more likely to make grammatical/spelling errors!

<i>Some of you nasty old girls really make me laugh. I'm so happy to be back.</i>
Sweetheart, I'd love to say it's so nice to have you back, but I can't speak for the entire group. You, however, are mid-50's age-wise, so how old are the "nasty old girls" to whom you refer in your post?

BC

Dear Kathy,

Most people I know who recover from serious health issues, come out of the experience sweeter and happier because they realize that life is too short, and the time remaining is precious. Given what you've had to endure in recent years, I won't ever mind playing your punching bag. I have no personal experience with an ICU bed. And I'd like to keep it that way.

So, do whatever makes you feel good, girl. Calling me "Barbie" (whatever that is supposed to mean), or playing grammar nanny on a casual internet forum may seem petty to some, especially when your and you're is one the most common typing errors known to man, but, hey, like I said, do what makes you happy. You've been through a lot, you deserve the happy moments.

As for "how old are the 'nasty old girls,'" I guess, for some, that really depends on the calculation in vampire years. Feel free to do the math.

If one can take the OP at her word on this thread, given that she provided little precise information, then it seems the bank ATM in question might be Banco San Marco on Calle Largo San Marco.

Calle Largo San Marco is not a long street, but it is immediately behind the Basilica. I had arrangements to see my friend, Paola at Bevilacqua, which is just around the corner from Calle Largo San Marco. So I didn't have to go out of my way to see the available ATMs in this area.

The street is not the most narrow in Venice, and the Banco San Marco ATM is directly across from Hotel Al Ponte dei Sospiri and Trattoria Canonica. This little corner is almost always crowded with activity.

It's difficult to imagine any thief choosing this location to attach a scamming device, but it could be quite easy very late at night, and morning users might never notice.

I did notice a camera above the bank's facade pointing downward toward the ATM, but who knows when that was installed or whether it's on 24/7. Obviously, when I visited, there was no scammer device attached.

MelJ - Thank you very much for your post. I will now talk to our bank about making our vacation money into a special account with it's own ATM and leave our checking account ATM at home.

cd, I actually started a special "vacation" checking account with CapitalOne online. There's an added bonus of very low exchange rates and NO FEES period on ATM withdrawals either in the US or foreign countries. I just transfer funds into it before a vacation so I'm sure I'll have enough. Meanwhile when I get a few extra pennies, I transfer money into that "interest bearing" checking account during the year to help build up my vacation fund.

Thanks Patrick, I am so thankful for this post because in talking with my husband about changing our vacation savings account into a checking with it's own ATM, he told me that with our reg ATM we can also take out savings! I did not know that and want it changed. If someone scammed us they could clean us out of everything!

FWIW, instead of keeping a large pile of ATM and CC slips at hand, I take photos of each and upload them to a designated file on my computer. That way, I have immediate access to them based on the dates of my trips.

NYC, it's nice to know your apology in August for your nasty supposition was heart-felt. NOT. You are one mean person. I hope you can someday forgive whoever it was that kicked your puppy or stole your bike when you were a child because bitterness directed nastily at strangers, while easy, will age you and paranoia will destroy ya.

I opened an account at wells fargo 5years ago when we went to europe for this very reason. I will use it again this spring when we go to italy. It will have limited funds in it just for our trip.

I am sorry this happpened to you and really it can happen to anyone.

girlonthego -- I took a Wells Fargo atm/debit card along as a backup last year, but thankfully did not have to use it. It probably depends on the type of checking account you have, but for me the charges would have been a whole lot more than from my credit union account. They told me it would be 3% plus $5.00 per $100 withdrawn. Yikes! Be sure to ask them what each ATM withdrawal will cost you.

FWIW - New Cap One checking accounts are done through ING as of 7/1/12 and they do not have "no fees" benefits of the older accounts.

Thanks travlsolo! I didn't remember large fees but only used it twice in europe the first time and once the second time. I brought some money with me on both trips and the second one was a prepaid tour so I didn't need to keep getting money out.
I will probably bring some with me again. I hate to land in a country without some cash.

Bitter? Mean? Nasty? Dear, whose dog got kicked? Whose bike was stolen?

MelJ, I have no idea who the person is you are describing. You don't know me, so I suspect you may be projecting.

I write here to help other travelers. Had I been scammed by an ATM machine, anywhere, the first thing I would do is warn other travelers of the precise location of the scam ATM. That's how I define helping others.

I understand the need to rant, whine, and throw a pity party when one feels victimized. Fodor's does provide a lot of free bandwidth to do that. But how much substance does that kind of help provide?

I am truly sorry for your loss and inconvenience, and I sincerely hope you learned something on this thread that will keep future trips scam free. And once again, I am sincerely sorry that I initially mistook you for another whiney, ignorant, male traveler, who didn't do his homework before he packed his bags. Those self-absorbed, know-it-all men, who never accept what they could have done differently, bore the daylights out of me.

Wow. Someone says she isn't bitter then adds that last paragraph to her post. Sincere apology? Reality check? Not to mention the sexist slant to it all -- women can't do the same things as men?

<i><font color=#555555>"women can't do the same things as men?"</font></i>

It's getting better, but men still rule most of the world. And many of them are idiots.

I love men. I just don't like whiney, self-pitying, ignorant men. That's not sexism, dear. That's knowing what you won't tolerate in a lover.

:-)

"And once again, I am sincerely sorry that I initially mistook you for another whiney, ignorant, male traveler, who didn't do his homework before he packed his bags. Those self-absorbed, know-it-all men, who never accept what they could have done differently, bore the daylights out of me."

Well, say what you want. But if you simply took out the word "male" in your first sentence, and also replaced it with the word "people" in your second sentence, I'm not sure what would have changed the meaning of your statement except the clarity that you were attacking men as if women can't be the same way. That's all. I had no idea why you felt it was necessary to pretend that only men act that way. But I also failed to understand you were talking about your lovers and not just people posting on a website. Well, whatever!

Patrick, no need to overthink the noise in this thread. I'm sure you have better things to do with your time.

The most important thing one can cull from this thread is to learn to protect yourself from financial scams, especially when you travel.

I accidentally left my wallet in the back seat of a taxi cab in Rome on New Year's Eve one year. I lost some cash and all my credit cards, and was due to fly to Paris on New Year's Day. I know the pain one endures when financial mishaps happen, and I now know how difficult it is to get bank help on a holiday.

Travel safely, everyone, but mostly, travel smart, which to me is the same thing.

What a horrible experience for MelJ in such a beatufil city!

No wonder his account was cleaned in NY if such snobs live there. Wasn't she banned for long time? Oh, well, it's a public website, what can you do!