Becareful With Air Asia Credit Card Bookings...

[steffi]

This could just be coincidence but the very same day I booked my air asia flight with a card I don't use that often and one that had only just been reissued with a new expiry date I find that there were three fraudulent charges charged to my card

04/10/2007

CHECKCARD 0409 AP9*PRIVACYMATTERS123 877-993-6264 CT

$1.00

04/10/2007

CHECKCARD 0409 VIDPROF 6.95S&P1STPMT 800-5257763 CO

$4.95

04/10/2007

CHECKCARD 0409 ULT* ULTIMA SMILE,LLC 800-6302305 CA

$8.95

These charges are all obviously designed to go under any "alert" radar.

[britmaveric]

Small charges are normally testing the water, see if they go through. Hope u canceled it!!!

[meadish_sweetball]

I fully agree - be very careful.

They have problems with their booking system because they hold these mass promotion drives that overload their website.

Yesterday I posted about my problems when trying to book a flight with Air Asia while they had one of these promotion drives.

At the final stage of booking, the system gave the error "This credit card is invalid, please try another card" - obviously there are no issues with the card, it is perfectly fine.

Since everything else had gone ok, and since I did not trust the system to be failproof, I immediately called Air Asia to check if money had been charged. The customer support representative told me no money had been charged from the card.

But later on that afternoon, when contacting the bank, it turns out the money had indeed been charged.

Spent 2 hours on the phone trying to cancel the booking - even escalated the issue to senior management - all we got was their trying to wriggle out of their responsibilities. They said they would check if there 'really had been an error' in the booking system and get back to us the next day.

Of course, they did not call the next day. We had to call them, after waiting the entire day. And despite us pointing out that we had done nothing wrong, the manager refuses to refund the money. The best we could get was flight credits for the same amount, to be used within 90 days.

So do not only beware of credit card detail theft, take care that there is no theft from the company itself as well.

[Wolfie]

notify the bank immediately... before you get stung for a higher amount!

[steffi]

Customer service for the bank of closed right now.

So the only recourse is to cancel the card?

That's a big inconvienience right now but your point is taken.

notify the bank immediately... before you get stung for a higher amount!

[george]

No need to cancel the card, just dispute the charges with the card company. That'll hurt them most.

[sinom]

Customer service for the bank of closed right now.

So the only recourse is to cancel the card?

That's a big inconvienience right now but your point is taken.

notify the bank immediately... before you get stung for a higher amount!

Which is the bigger inconvenience ? cancelling the card or losing a large amount of money. ?

Should be a simple choice. You have already had the warning signs of the small value transactions.

[StateSix]

What bank are you using that doesn't have a 24 hour line for reporting lost/stolen cards or frauds?

You will not be liable for any fraudulent transactions made on your card, as long as you have taken reasonable steps to prevent it, and you report any frauds at the earliest opportunity.

[steffi]

Yes you make a good point but what is their record re: disputes like this? This would be with Bank Of America so I'd imagine them to resolve any dispute in a timely fashion?

Customer service for the bank of closed right now.

So the only recourse is to cancel the card?

That's a big inconvienience right now but your point is taken.

notify the bank immediately... before you get stung for a higher amount!

Which is the bigger inconvenience ? cancelling the card or losing a large amount of money. ?

Should be a simple choice. You have already had the warning signs of the small value transactions.

[steffi]

I could just keep a small amount of money in my checking account but currently I have enabled that feature that lets them take money out of savings when it's necessary. This is designed to protect you from going into overdraft and incurring bank charges $50 each time. So right now they can put thru an amount that would hit checking and then it will hit savings for the remained. Anybody know if you can turn that feature off online?

Yes you make a good point but what is their record re: disputes like this? This would be with Bank Of America so I'd imagine them to resolve any dispute in a timely fashion?

Customer service for the bank of closed right now.

So the only recourse is to cancel the card?

That's a big inconvienience right now but your point is taken.

notify the bank immediately... before you get stung for a higher amount!

Which is the bigger inconvenience ? cancelling the card or losing a large amount of money. ?

Should be a simple choice. You have already had the warning signs of the small value transactions.

[steffi]

Well ideally I want to still be able to access money thru ATM with this card so I'm reluctant to cancel it out right but the bank says you need to call customer service to dispute charges and they aren't open right now.

Bank of America...

Anybody got a positive experience to report with another bank?

What bank are you using that doesn't have a 24 hour line for reporting lost/stolen cards or frauds?

You will not be liable for any fraudulent transactions made on your card, as long as you have taken reasonable steps to prevent it, and you report any frauds at the earliest opportunity.

[JimGant]

Why not get a Bank of America credit card? They have a feature, inherited from MBNA, called "Shopsafe," whereby you generate a temporary, disposable credit card number, complete with CVV 3-digit security number. You designate expiration date and credit limit. It only takes seconds to generate on your computer. No cost involved, and obviously adds near-ironclad security to on-line shopping, as only one merchant can use that particular number.

If credit's not a problem -- and you pay off your monthly bill -- I'd sure consider reserving your check card for ATM use only. Yeah, they promise to refill your bank account the next day after reported fraud, but I sleep better knowing a fraudster will never have access to my bank account. (And particularly Thai bank-issued debit cards, as this forum has some horror stories about banks NOT refilling your account after fraud.)

And using a debit card number on-line..... Scary stuff.

No need to cancel the card, just dispute the charges with the card company. That'll hurt them most.

I believe once you report fraudulent use of your card, the card will automatically be canceled.

[steffi]

Just to follow up on this topic...

well Bank Of America clearly doesn't have my interests in mind... they told me they put a temporary hold on the card but then subsequently released it which meant additional charges went thru.I've tried three times to dispute these charges and the first time I clearly identified everything that was fraudulent and then the prepaid mobile ran out so they didn't process anything. Tonight I ring again talk to three people tell each which transactions are fraudulent and authenticate with the same questions with each person. Honestly they seem to make it as hard as possible so you'll give up. Then finally they tell me I have to

1. contact the merchant for each transaction otherwise there's a chance the claim will be denied not something i'm prepared to do quite frankly. what are the chances a merchant is going to discuss this with you on the phone? I ask you.

2. I have to return a document they need to send to my mailing address and if I don't they will cancel my claim.

...

so bottom line is they simply aren't interested in helping you when it really counts. Fortunately for me they've closed the card now and there's a very good chance that when I get back I'll be closing my accounts. I've lived in US long enough to know what their game is here and that they really aren't sincere about helping me resolve this issue.

Fortunately the amount is manageable otherwise it would be considerably more stressfull than what it is. At this time I've spent as much in prepaid minutes as the charges themselves.

[steffi]

I do have a Bank Of America credit card actually but the credit limit is quite low. I'm sure if I asked they'd raise it. honestly I've lived in the US using debit cards it's never been a problem until now... I guess I learnt why credit cards are more useful. Nonetheless I think I've had it with Bank of America now though. The bigger they get the less you're likely to get from them.

[eek]

Can i just clarify that you all now think its unlikely that the fraud had anything to do with booking online with air asia?

Also, I dont know how many would be interested, but I use a pre-paid visa. It works just as a regular visa but no credit. I transfer a small sum onto the card each month or when needed. If my card is stolen or used for transactions there is only so much damage that can be done as I dont load it up with large sums of money. Downside is you pay a monthly rate (around $4) for it.

The only problem is i dont know if this card can be obtained within Thailand. If you google "pre-paid credit cards" you will find out the options.

[steffi]

Can i just clarify that you all now think its unlikely that the fraud had anything to do with booking online with air asia?

The card was newly issued ie. new expiry date, 3 digit code.

I used it in two locations prior to the fraudulent charges appearing. One was at Narita airport and the other was Thai Air Asia over the phone requiring the 3 digit code. The very same day the Thai Air Asia charges posted additional fraudulent charges were posted.

[CHdiver]

This could just be coincidence but the very same day I booked my air asia flight with a card I don't use that often and one that had only just been reissued with a new expiry date I find that there were three fraudulent charges charged to my card

How did you book this flight. With your computer? In a Internet Shop? Using free or not secure WIFI? Your computer mai got a Virus, that sends your Cardinformation to a thirdparty. I highly doubt that your data was missused in Conection with Air Asia (it wouldn't just be you, there would be thousends of people with this problem).

Just a thought.

Edit: You just answerd my questions. No Idea if Narita or Air Asia

Edited April 30, 2007 by CHdiver

[steffi]

To clarify the Air Asia flight was booked over the phone not the internet

This could just be coincidence but the very same day I booked my air asia flight with a card I don't use that often and one that had only just been reissued with a new expiry date I find that there were three fraudulent charges charged to my card

How did you book this flight. With your computer? In a Internet Shop? Using free or not secure WIFI? Your computer mai got a Virus, that sends your Cardinformation to a thirdparty. I highly doubt that your data was missused in Conection with Air Asia (it wouldn't just be you, there would be thousends of people with this problem).

Just a thought.

Edit: You just answerd my questions. No Idea if Narita or Air Asia

[eek]

To clarify the Air Asia flight was booked over the phone not the internet

oh ok. ty for clearing that up for me. I sort of presumed was booked online..no idea why. Well..i hope you were able to sort it all out. =/ Edited April 30, 2007 by eek

[crudy21]

be carefull with any credit card transaction full stop, especially in Asia.

[The Skipper]

Call the Credit Card company and dispute the charges.

Once they hear "Thailand", the funds will be credited to your account.

Thailand, Nigeria, Indonesia are well known scam centers to the CC Cos.

[Bizz]

Booked flight with Air Asia in January and card was not excepted tried again same flight same day same time. Guess what happened yes charged twice called Air Asia sorry sir this is a lawful transaction. This was 40 min on the phone to Malaysia. Had to cancel the card from advice from Visa.

This never happens with other AIRLINES. Yes eventually i did get my funds cridited to my account .

Never again to much worry.

[Thaising]

The only problem is i dont know if this card can be obtained within Thailand. If you google "pre-paid credit cards" you will find out the options.

Yes, Most Thai banks atm card do come with eletron visa if you ask one.

[hotgeekus]

I just booked with AirAsia for my next TV.

With my Siam Commercial VISA, after I enter the information and click send, between the transaction I am forwarded to another site from VISA and SiamCommercial, which askes me for a six digit code which I had to set. That adds another layer of security, (I guess).

Also, on a side note, it sends me a SMS when a large transaction goes through (of course, in boxes as my phone is set to english, but I get the amount, ie. .......... 36,000 .....).

Guess that makes it safer :-)