We returned from Rome on October 27th. While in Rome we used an ATM card 3 times. This card is not a check card and requires a PIN. On November 13th, we discovered that our account was missing $11,000. The card was never out of our possession and we still have it. One of the machines was apparently rigged to copy our card and record the PIN. They began using it on Oct. 29th and used it every day until we discovered the loss. Has anyone else had this happen?

Wow! I hope you got things settled with your bank and aren't out the $11K. ??

Do you happen to remember the ATMs you used - or even the areas/banks? We leave on Thursday and I'd love to avoid this!

I'd be interested in hearing if other people have had this happen and/or how to avoid it.

We used one in the Piazza Navona & on Via Veneto & near the Trevi Fountain. We are working with the bank now. we have our flight tickets as well as a receipt for a Boston hotel showing we were back in the states before they began using it. We had been advised against using credit cards frequently because they then have the number as well as expiration date. But no one had warned us about ATM theft. But our trip was fabulous and everyone was great while we were in Italy and France. Have fun! Just check your balances often on your return. I wish I had.

Good advice, bev_d. Hmmmm....

I'm also curious what your withdrawal limit was. Usually most people have a $500 limit which means they would have had to have made 22 withdrawals. I'm not sure why your bank wouldn't have contacted you by that point, especially since you were already home.
This certainly does seem like a nightmare, but hopefully you will be protected from any personal loss.

This is scary-sounding. Maybe it's best to use a checking account that has only the needed amount and no more for one's ATM transactions.

In any event, I try to check my transactions online every day or two to determine that nothing is amiss. It also helps keep a handle on family spending.

Our limit is $700 for cash and $1,000 for purchases. I have a transcript from the bank and they used it continuously. Every day there were numerous denials posted. I questioned the bank as to why they were not suspicious, they responded that credit cards track unusual activity, but that checking accounts are not monitored that way. I do believe that we will be reimbursed, but it has been an ordeal.

WillTravel,
Since this has happened several people have told me that when they travel, they have their card tied to an account with a limited amount of money just as you have suggested. It's good advice.

Before we went to Italy, I sat down with our bank vp and told her when the dates of our travel would be, and had our daily withdrawal changed to $500/day for that timeframe only. I did the same with our credit card companies, to alert them in case anything untoward happened with our cards. I'm very sorry this happened to you, bev.

This scam began here in America and has existed for quite some time. It can happen anywhere and the machines don't require rigging. There was a feature story years ago on network TV revealing a hidden camera a block away from an outdoor ATM that captured close-ups of your card number and PIN. The viewer was warned, especially if you use outdoor ATM's to cover your card as you insert it and cover the keypad with your hand as you punch in your PIN.

I don't know if you have heard of Clark Howard (Consumer advocate, talk radio personality) but, I followed his advice and covered the number and PIN entry (with my husband standing directly behind me) and I even felt the opening for plastic, because we had been warned that the plastic would keep the transaction from being approved and your card may be kept. Then the thief returns and pulls out the card. I think the safest way is to alert your bank and credit cards of your activity before hand as has just been suggested. I know I will in the future.

Bev_d - did you use bank atms or those kiosk atms? I remember a story on Nightline about the atms in bodegas here in NYC - and how pin numbers were videotape and electronic copies of the card duped.

I agree - talk about a nightmare....

You speak about a limit for purchases. Is the card a debit card too, a POS card (PIN's only) or a plain vanilla ATM card?

This does illustrate, alas, one of the advantages of credit cards over any sort of debit instrument although in theory PIN cards should be safe. At least with a credit card, the perps don't get your money. They get money and establish bills for you which do not cost you anything. I am sure you will be reimbursed but it certainly is aggrevating.

My suggestion is still to use credit cards wherever possible and rely on an alternate ATM card than the one tied into any of your primary accounts. Then load the account before you leave with the amount of spending money you think you will need. While obviously they can get into your checking account the way it happened, if there isn't a whole lot of money it certainly cuts down on your risk, eh! But of course, no matter what you do, it is hard to be completely safe no matter what with those jackasses around.

Wow, bev, thank you for posting this. I have never heard of this before and use my ATM all the time when I travel. It's tied to my checking account, so the funds are limited. But I am certainly going to be sure my bank knows the dates of my travel. I've never bothered to check my balance on line while I was traveling, but I think I'll set up my account to do so. I hope you can get it straightened out ok.

I was speaking to a bank manager here in Belgium some time ago, and he said their staff check the ATM's for hidden cameras regularly. It's something you would not notice at first. The thiefs slide an insert into the card reader, copy the cards, and use the camera to see you pin number. Apparently it happens a lot, so always shield the keyboard when you are putting in your pin. Bev; I was in Rome too that week; thank you for the warning.

We often go to ATMS that have a bunch of locals queued at them. Do you think that's a deterent? Now that I know, I'll look for the plastic and disquise my transaction better on my next trip. Thanks for the tip.

One of the best tips I've gotten from this board is to remove the credit card feature from my ATM card. I can only withdraw money with it. The daily withdrawal limit minimizes how much money can be illegally depleted. When my husband had his wallet stolen this fall we didn't have to worry about losing access to our bank account. It's easier not to have had the money withdrawn than to get it back!

Exactly the same happended to a friend 2 years ago in Spain (near Puerto Banus.)
He was there for 1 week. Used the card 3-4 times in a bank owned machine (hole in the wall type). Used it for nothing else (no purchases etc.) Still several thousand pounds down from his account before the bank contacted him and put a stop on that account. All of the transactions traced back to that area of Spain.
He did eventually get his money back though.