We got back from Hua Hin about 2 months ago. On looking at my account today, my card has been cloned and about £300 pounds taken - another 3 transactions were attempted but stopped by the bank. The money was taken from an ATM in Hong Kong about 2 weeks ago (my wonderful bank didn't bother telling me but at least stopped further transactions from Hong Kong) but it's believed the cards were cloned in Thailand (saying cards - my husbands was cloned whilst we were in Hua Hin - they used his immediately).
We used ATMs all over Hua Hin - but the bank's advice for what it's worth was to try and use ATM machines inside banks for added security (in theory making it difficult to tamper with the machines) - don't know if this will be of any help to anyone but just thought I'd let you know.
Did you also use your card to pay for things in stores and restaurants or only ATMs?
I ask because a cloned card is no use without the pin number, anyone can make a copy of a card with a card writer but the pin number is needed to make most transactions these days.
Frank Hovis wrote:Did you also use your card to pay for things in stores and restaurants or only ATMs?
I ask because a cloned card is no use without the pin number, anyone can make a copy of a card with a card writer but the pin number is needed to make most transactions these days.
Is that the case in Thailand. I've only made one purchase on a card in the last 2 years, so I don't know, but the one I did make I had to sign a slip of paper.
Frank Hovis wrote:Did you also use your card to pay for things in stores and restaurants or only ATMs?
I ask because a cloned card is no use without the pin number, anyone can make a copy of a card with a card writer but the pin number is needed to make most transactions these days.
Here's a link to a video of what the cloners get when you're at an ATM - despite the warnings on the ATM screen.
Covering the numbers will not stop your details being sold off in a credit card dump... (Chip & PINs can be skimmed too).
Plenty of places take cards without the use of a PIN, and online purchases can be made without using CVV2 etc.
Chopsticks & Frank Hovis - they were both debit cards and only ever used at ATMs - we took out a large amount each ATM visit and then used cash for everything. The bank has promised to reimburse in full within 48 hours - it's being without a card for a week which is the most annoying - but better to be without one here than in Hua Hin.
Dresser - I agree, cash is the way forward but we were there for 9 months so needed regular access to UK money.
Good news that the bank will quickly reimburse you, I suppose they want to encourage customers to continue to use their cards overseas. Not sure if it's any 'safer' but I tend to avoid using ATM's at places such as 7-11 preferring those in or outside banks where they may be more chance of stuck on skimmer attachments being discovered by staff.
I've been using my Barclays debit card through ATMs here for years and fortunately have never had a problem.
However, up until about 3 years ago, the card was regularly blocked and I needed to call the security centre to re-activate it. I always asked when I needed to call again. Sometimes it was 2 months, sometimes 3. Eventually, they ran out of security questions to ask me and just said that I'd never have to call again.
Until about a month ago.
I suppose that's it's an inconvenience, but bearing in mind the OP's situation, it's an inconvenience I can and will have to live with.
I don't have a mobile phone (hate the things), but the day I'm somewhere in the dead of the night, owing money, and am unable to access the ATM is the day I'll maybe buy a phone!!
I've had a similar experience to lomu's with my HSBC card. In my case probably every 6-8 months - they didn't tell me it would never happen again, but it did stop when I changed my registered bank postal address to Thailand. But a few months ago they blocked it because they had detected that my card had been cloned, although not yet used. They cancelled the card and sent me another one. And now I have one of these security keys to access my account on line.
dtaai-maai wrote:I've had a similar experience to lomu's with my HSBC card. In my case probably every 6-8 months - they didn't tell me it would never happen again, but it did stop when I changed my registered bank postal address to Thailand. But a few months ago they blocked it because they had detected that my card had been cloned, although not yet used. They cancelled the card and sent me another one. And now I have one of these security keys to access my account on line.
Yes the electronic security fob is standard practice now with HSBC - a bit of a pain when logging on to your account, but for the added security it's worth it.
