Someone's getting some free trips around Europe courtesy of my credit card number...related to my Europe bookings?
 

Got quite a shock when I checked my credit card's online statement today. Almost $1100 in airfare had been charged to it yesterday -- $400 for Easyjet, over $600 for Vueling. Only problem was, neither of those tickets were mine! At first I thought the credit card had made some sort of error with the currency conversion - until I remembered that we had decided NOT to book a ticket on Easyjet and that we had charged our Vueling tickets to my boyfriend's card!

Called the credit card company, and they said that once I sign the affidavit saying I didn't make the charges they will be reversed (this being my first experience with credit card fraud, I was happy to hear it was so easy). So its not that big a deal, I guess. However, I can't help but wonder if it is more than a coincidence that charges are being made to European merchants right around the time that I have been required to give my credit card number to a good number of hotels/an apartment agency for our September trip to France and Italy. Every place we booked was highly recommended on this board as well as, for the hotels, on Tripadvisor, so I am sure the businesses themselves have nothing to do with it, but I am wondering if there is an errant employee or a third-party hacker who has gone after one of the places at which we booked. Has anyone else had this kind of thing happen to them?

Also, I have to say that after reading all the stories on this board of people who have had their credit cards put on hold after buying one meal in Europe, I was somewhat bemused that *my* credit card allowed a thousand dollars in charges with nary a peep...:-/

That happened to us once in 2000. It occurred after we got home so I think it was when we gave the hotel in Rome our card for the room charges. Fortunately it was taken care of by the bank and has never happened again.

Hi Dawn,

The bad guys have more ways to get at your identity than you will ever be able to count.

It might have nothing at all to do with your recent activity.

>I was somewhat bemused that *my* credit card allowed a thousand dollars in charges with nary a peep...<

Did you tell your CC company that you would be making unusual charges? If not, their computers are asleep at the switch.

((I))

Earlier this year, while I was traveling in the USA, someone hacked into my AMEX card and in the space of 36 hours purchased nearly $8,000 dollars worth of some video wargame. The perpetrators were in the UK. I hadn't been in the UK or even Europe for the 9 months before that, so I can't relate it to arrangements for some trip.

Thank God Amex called me immediately and froze my card, Fedexed me a replacement card at the hotel I was staying at, reversed the charges, and started a fraud investigation. They were wonderful!

What was a huge PITA, though, was trying to remember the websites where my AMEX number is on file (Borders, Blockbuster, McAfee, Dell, places like that) so I could change the card number. Maybe that's the problem to begin with - my number's recorded in a handful of places).

But yes, it's a real shock, and it happens far too frequently!

It's much more likely that your number was stolen at a local restaurant or store that on one of the major on-line sights - which have all sorts of protection.

But - just to make it extra safe - you have the option of not having your CC number stored on any of these sites. I do that - and have to insert it each time I use a site - but better than have my # sitting there permanently.

Also -I have one card only on use on-line - so others can;t possibly be contaminated.

Another tip:

Someone breached my Ebay account last weekend. They then sent out emails in my name...weird, I thought. But I didn't worry too much because I don't store credit card numbers there. I should have worried.

By sending THEMSELVES an email, they had my email address. It didn't occur to me that PayPal uses your email address for your User ID. I think the thieves have discovered a lot of people (like me!) use the same password on Ebay and Paypal. Once they have your email, they're in. The next morning they charged $600 on my Paypal bank account.

The good news: Paypal called me within minutes of the sale---I was impressed. I can only presume Ebay had notified them about the breach the day before. Paypal must have been watching my account to have called me so quickly. Funny thing, when I tried to log into PayPal the language on my account had been changed to some encrypted Asian looking language. I couldn't even find the "log in" window.

Bad news: Ebay is vulnerable. And I've had to cancel all my cards. Fortunately, I have I.D. Theft insurance and they are watching the credit bureaus for any sign of someone applying for credit in my name. I just hope I haven't forgotten something.

MORAL: DO NOT use the same password on any two accounts where you store credit card/bank information. Especially not on Ebay and Paypal. And, if you get an unexpected email from YOURSELF out of ebay...contact them immediately.