snikpoh

So, I wonder who can help with this one?

I've just checked my bank statement and noticed 3 cash point withdrawals on 3 consecutive days for 140 Euro. Having checked with the bank, each withdrawal was at around the same time which, coincidentally, was when I was ferrying the children to school (no where near a cash point).

This pattern is totally out of character as we don't draw money in this way. If we need some, we tend to do it in one go.

Anyway, spoke to the bank who basically said 'tough'! As it was done through a cash point then it must have been done with a PIN number so it's down to me!

Does anyone know if I have any recourse at all - insurance? Bank denuncia?

bil

Change your pin NOW (presumably you have done so already.) Write to the bank certificado to say that you have changed it on that date.

Ghost withdrawals are nothing new. If you haven't lost a card, how the hell they do it beats me, but there you are. Unless of course you had used it in a maching that had a cloner and a camera attached.....

There was a copper in the UK, I remember, was afflicted by the same problem, claimed the money back and was suspended for fraud by his bosses.

Why? Because it 'had' to be him since it was done by pin. I think he was proven correct in the end.

whitelinen

Hope you have cancelled the card. Was it a credit or debit card? do you have card insurance?

Which bank are you with? Some banks offer an SMS service whereby you are sent a text notifying you of a transaction or withdrawal.

Go back to the bank and insist they do something, they are the only ones who can put this right. Uphill fight I know but dont waste time and energy elsewhere at this stage.

snikpoh

PIN changed and new card ordered!

The card was a Mastercard issued by the bank and so (in Spain) you don't get card insurance (unlike most other EU countries)!

It was the Banesto bank which is wholly owned by Santander.

I rang my insurance company (house insurance) but they said that it would be almost impossible to prove so don't even bother trying!

Merry Christmas

HBG

The Guardia Civil in the Torrevieja area recently arrested a gang for cloning cards and I believe the gang had the means of obtaining pin numbers too. The Guardia even appealed for victims to come forward, which I’ve never seen before.

I read the report around a week ago and it must have been in one or more of the local papers. Perhaps your local Guardia can help, otherwise their main office is based in Valencia.

missile

IMHO, that is not an acceptable response and I would change my bank.

The bank card and PIN sentry are not as secure as your bank has suggested. This has been argued successfully and (in the UK) people have been given the money back.

La Joconde

Hi,

Yes you can get Cards Insurance in Spain. Ask your bank.

We were asked if we wanted our cards insured for the first time last year. It cost €52 for all our cards for the year for both of us.

We renewed the insurance this year. It also guarantees when you use your cards online....BUT you have to tell ¨them¨ if you change your cards and give them the new details, you would think they would know but one department doesnt speak to the other.

Merry Christmas to all!

Fredbargate

Do the cash points where the money was drawn from have any CCTV coverage???

snikpoh

Nice thought but unfortunately not

missile

I saw a U tube video which demonstrated how easy it was to steal card details with RF technology. Frightening that a gadget costing €100 can read details from the card while it is your wallet. I do not want to give the link in case there are some less than honest readers.

This is another example where a police officer was skimmed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrjoT2nzz-0

bil

Wrap your Bcard and so on with bacofoil. Nothing can read thru that.

missile

Very true. The video was posted by some enterprising geek who is marketing a credit card holder to foil RF skimmers.

HBG

4. Skimming

Using a debit card also makes you more susceptible to a fraudulent practice known as skimming. The most common form of skimming occurs when you use an ATM and don't realise a false front has been attached to the card reader — where you insert your card. This then captures your card number and transmits it wirelessly to someone waiting nearby.

A hidden camera is also likely to be attached to the machine and will capture your PIN when you enter it. Criminals can then make a copy of your card and use it, along with the PIN to withdraw money and buy goods.

So make sure you keep your wits about you when you use any ATM and if it looks dodgy, use a different one. And don't forget to always cover the keypad as you enter your PIN to prevent anyone (or any cameras) from seeing it. Find out more in Five ways to protect yourself from ATM fraud.

poolboy

sorry to hear about this & I can't offer any constructive advice other than making a voodoo doll of the perpetrator, just get some plasticine from a chino shop. Stick pins in it at various sensitive places!

you won't get yr money back but you feel a lot better

Lynn R

Sorry to hear about your experience, it is quite a shock when you find out your credit or debit card has been used fraudulently.

It happened to me twice in the UK - first someone ordered £400 of goods by mail order from a company I would never use (the company had a delivery address which wasn't mine so I hope they were tracked down) and the second time when I received my monthly statement I discovered someone had spent £2,000 in a branch of Comet in Edinburgh, on a day when I was at work in Manchester. The card hadn't been out of my possession on either occasion, and the money was refunded to my account (I didn't have to pay out at all as the account was frozen whilst they investigated). I had some embarassing experiences in shops when using my new card to pay for things after that, though, as every time I used to get called to the phone to answer security questions. I felt like the criminal, not the victim!