Local Credit Card Theft

[narkeddiver]

Geez, it sure would be nice if some of the bitter Europeans and others could show us some decent offers on foreign credit cards...

Unfortunately I'm a non-bitter European so I can't help you out

I've checked with all my European friends in Chiang Mai and they're all non-bitter as well, as are my antipodean and American friends - seems there is only one bitter person here

[amexpat]

"2. Do you know whether these plates shield the body from the cellphone’s harmful emissions?"

That's what tin-foil hats are for.

Better Call Saul

Edited May 23, 2016 by amexpat

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Geez, it sure would be nice if some of the bitter Europeans and others could show us some decent offers on foreign credit cards...

Unfortunately I'm a non-bitter European so I can't help you out

I've checked with all my European friends in Chiang Mai and they're all non-bitter as well, as are my antipodean and American friends - seems there is only one bitter person here

the large supply of hot dogs here must keep them happy, or is it the boxed wine?

[narkeddiver]

Geez, it sure would be nice if some of the bitter Europeans and others could show us some decent offers on foreign credit cards...

Unfortunately I'm a non-bitter European so I can't help you out

I've checked with all my European friends in Chiang Mai and they're all non-bitter as well, as are my antipodean and American friends - seems there is only one bitter person here

the large supply of hot dogs here must keep them happy, or is it the boxed wine?

Nah - it's being able to find a cold beer with that's 1 baht cheaper than anywhere else

[Trujillo]

So the guy charged your card to book a hotel room? That means you know his name and when and where he will be. Let's all crash his party, shall we?

[FolkGuitar]

FolkGuitar:

Thank you for your useful post. I have already added my comment (post # 58) because I have some identical experiences including in Chiangmai.

However, I would like to ask you about the anti-skimming plates which you mentioned:

1, Can you please let me know where I can buy these?

2. Do you know whether these plates shield the body from the cellphone’s harmful emissions?

Many thanks.

The cards are made of a metallic foil. I bought mine in an electronics store in Japan. I tested them using the card readers for the train system, and they effectively blocked the reader's ability to detect my train pass, so I believe that they actually do work. I'm sure you can find them on line. I have two of them, one on each side of my cards. I have a feeling that ordinary aluminum foil will work just as well, but you'd want to test it, perhaps at a bank's reader just to be sure.

So the guy charged your card to book a hotel room? That means you know his name and when and where he will be. Let's all crash his party, shall we?

As someone pointed out earlier, the hackers may well have sold the information to someone else who then used the numbers to book the room. In any rate, I have no idea what the person's name would be. That's in the hands of the credit card companies.

[Trujillo]

I don't have a credit card, gave them up in 1985, but don't you get an email receipt and the details on your statement to know what was booked -- where and for when?

[KhonKaenKowboy]

usually, there are about a dozen ways to receive notification of use/amounts/limits/locations....The old read the paper statement once a month is as outdated as a rotary dial phone.

[Chicog]

If my bank see any transaction that is abnormal for me, I get an SMS with the requirement to select 1 for "It was you" or 2 for "It wasn't".

This applies to both debit and credit cards.

[Trujillo]

How do they know what is an "abnormal" use?

Surely the OP's card company couldn't have a filter that caught a hotel booking. Unless the OP has never booked a hotel online before.

[NancyL]

How do they know what is an "abnormal" use?

Surely the OP's card company couldn't have a filter that caught a hotel booking. Unless the OP has never booked a hotel online before.

They get to know your patterns very easily. For us, it's wild spending sprees at Tops, Rim Ping with occasional visits to the spas at the various hospitals in town. (Can you tell our 60th b-day parties were a while ago?) If we decide to do something really wild and crazy like go to Bangkok for the weekend to shop for sheets and towels at a store more upscale than Central Dept. store, then we've learned to call the credit card company in advance because they're not used to us spending that much money on that sort of stuff.

[opalred]

it was a drone

[scottiejohn]

Remember in the case of credit cards it isnt the issuing bank that runs the security/protection systems, it is VISA, Mastercard, American Express, etc. It doesnt matter if its a Thai VISA card or American VISA card.

As I have posted many times the Credit card/Debit card/cheque rules for US/AUS/Europe are very different.

Visa does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers; (it does some times use a Visa foreign exchange rate) rather, Visa provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products that they then use to offer credit, debit, prepaid and cash-access programs to their customers.

Visa Europe is a separate membership entity that is an exclusive licensee of Visa Inc.'s trademarks and technology in the European region, issuing cards such as Visa Debit and Visa Credit.

Visa (Europe) does not carry out anti fraud checks etc. these are carried out by the individual card issuers. UK banks strongly advise that you inform them of any foreign trips you are taking before departing.

PS; HSBC card fraud call centre is in India!!

[FolkGuitar]

How do they know what is an "abnormal" use?

Surely the OP's card company couldn't have a filter that caught a hotel booking. Unless the OP has never booked a hotel online before.

As I said before, these two cards have ONLY been used at Tops and at Rimping, never on line or in other shops.

We have other cards and accounts that we use for on-line bookings and still others for local shops. It makes it easy for the companies to instantly spot 'unusual or abnormal' usage. Some of the cards that we use in 'less secure areas' have a $200 credit line, so even if hacked or stolen, the thieves can't charge up a storm. Cards that we use for more secure transactions have a far greater available credit ceiling.

Although my cards have been hacked several times over the past few years, the only resulting inconvenience has been to go without that particular card for the two weeks that it takes to get the replacement. Never lost any money at all.

[NancyL]

On a somewhat related note -- has anyone had problems using a foreign-issued credit card at the Truevisions store in Kad Suan Kaew?

I like to use my U.S.-issued Visa credit card each month in person to pay the bill. Heck, I'm in KSK 3-4 times a week, so it's no big deal to go in and pay in person. No problem until our credit union re-issued the Visa card as a secured chipped card. Tops, Rim Ping and the hospitals had no problem accepting the chipped Visa card, but it's baffled the idiots at TrueVisions almost every month.

They go to use it and some don't hit the right combination of keys on the computer screen and they get a message that "there's not enough money in the account". "Emm, ladies it's not a debit card, so the amount of money in the account isn't relevant. That card has a line of credit sufficient to justify my retirement visa." Of course, that doesn't mean anything to them and at that point the card has been locked. They insist the card is "no good" and at that point it is, actually.

The interesting thing is that the card is still accepted at Tops, Rim Ping, etc. but I have to call Visa in the U.S. and get them to unlock "True Money" that's the way it shows up when they request a charge.

Last night when I called them because, once again, there was a problem, the Visa people implied there was an on-going problem with charges from "True Money". Anyone else had a problem?

[FolkGuitar]

I pay at the True office in the basement of KSK also, but haven't had a problem there. The card that I use for that doesn't have a chip, though...

[lopburi3]

I do not use it - use direct debit from bank account for True - but believe True Money is a payment system, like PayPal and the others rather than a dedicated True bill payment. As True (under previous names) dates from when writing anything in English resulted in high tax payments, and still avoids doing so, really can not say have much understanding of anything they have or do.

[hml367]

On a somewhat related note -- has anyone had problems using a foreign-issued credit card at the Truevisions store in Kad Suan Kaew?

I like to use my U.S.-issued Visa credit card each month in person to pay the bill. Heck, I'm in KSK 3-4 times a week, so it's no big deal to go in and pay in person. No problem until our credit union re-issued the Visa card as a secured chipped card. Tops, Rim Ping and the hospitals had no problem accepting the chipped Visa card, but it's baffled the idiots at TrueVisions almost every month.

They go to use it and some don't hit the right combination of keys on the computer screen and they get a message that "there's not enough money in the account". "Emm, ladies it's not a debit card, so the amount of money in the account isn't relevant. That card has a line of credit sufficient to justify my retirement visa." Of course, that doesn't mean anything to them and at that point the card has been locked. They insist the card is "no good" and at that point it is, actually.

The interesting thing is that the card is still accepted at Tops, Rim Ping, etc. but I have to call Visa in the U.S. and get them to unlock "True Money" that's the way it shows up when they request a charge.

Last night when I called them because, once again, there was a problem, the Visa people implied there was an on-going problem with charges from "True Money". Anyone else had a problem?

Maybe it is you, your card, Visa, Inc., and/or the credit union that issued the card that is causing this.

I see no reason to call the people at TrueVisions idiots no matter whose fault it is. This, to me, just shows your disdain for Thai people.

There have been numerous news stories in English which are available in Thailand talking about the new chip cards and also about problems in using them.

[lopburi3]

Well I have had issues using non-chip cards using Tesco at times - they even used two different mobile POS machines trying to get my good BBL debit card to work. I noted them putting into chip reader slot rather than swiping tape on both machines - but they could not get to work using either so have paid in cash from that point on. There is nothing wrong with card and use often at hospital. But there often is some lack of training for employees.

[NancyL]

On a somewhat related note -- has anyone had problems using a foreign-issued credit card at the Truevisions store in Kad Suan Kaew?

I like to use my U.S.-issued Visa credit card each month in person to pay the bill. Heck, I'm in KSK 3-4 times a week, so it's no big deal to go in and pay in person. No problem until our credit union re-issued the Visa card as a secured chipped card. Tops, Rim Ping and the hospitals had no problem accepting the chipped Visa card, but it's baffled the idiots at TrueVisions almost every month.

They go to use it and some don't hit the right combination of keys on the computer screen and they get a message that "there's not enough money in the account". "Emm, ladies it's not a debit card, so the amount of money in the account isn't relevant. That card has a line of credit sufficient to justify my retirement visa." Of course, that doesn't mean anything to them and at that point the card has been locked. They insist the card is "no good" and at that point it is, actually.

The interesting thing is that the card is still accepted at Tops, Rim Ping, etc. but I have to call Visa in the U.S. and get them to unlock "True Money" that's the way it shows up when they request a charge.

Last night when I called them because, once again, there was a problem, the Visa people implied there was an on-going problem with charges from "True Money". Anyone else had a problem?

Maybe it is you, your card, Visa, Inc., and/or the credit union that issued the card that is causing this.

I see no reason to call the people at TrueVisions idiots no matter whose fault it is. This, to me, just shows your disdain for Thai people.

There have been numerous news stories in English which are available in Thailand talking about the new chip cards and also about problems in using them.

No I will stand by my calling the staff at Truevisions "idiots" for saying that my "credit card doesn't have enough money". That is an idiotic thing to say. They clearly lack training. It doesn't show dislike of all Thai people. If you had read my post, you'd see that I use the same card without any problems at many other business here in Chiang Mai. Truevisions has a monopoly so they obviously feel they don't have to train their employees and their employees know they don't have to treat the customers with respect. It is very disrespectful for them to say my card "doesn't have enough money" month after month when the problem is clearly on their end. I don't have this problem with any other merchant anywhere else in Chiang Mai and there is ONE gal with a few brain cells tied together who can manage to get their system to accept the card, assuming none of her co-workers has had a go with it first and caused it to get locked up.

So stop saying I have "disdain for Thai people", when I just have disdain for the Truevisions staff at KSK and wondered if anyone else had a similar problem there.

(Geesh, this isn't the first time you've tried to twist the facts and paint me as a bigot, either. You clearly don't know me.)

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Seen waitresses come back to the table and announce a payers card was "no good," even though it had a credit limit larger than the net worth of her entire family tree, she just didn't "do it right." They were having a few problems with my chipped card at Mcdonalds in BKK, but someone came and showed her how to do it...no problem. It worked fine in the self service. Jampha quit taking all non-Thai cards over a year ago, so you can run into that. A non-chipped AMex will work fine at Siam TV, but their billing department is so big, that I think they will gladly get on the phone if their is a problem getting approval.

[Dante99]

On a somewhat related note -- has anyone had problems using a foreign-issued credit card at the Truevisions store in Kad Suan Kaew?

I like to use my U.S.-issued Visa credit card each month in person to pay the bill. Heck, I'm in KSK 3-4 times a week, so it's no big deal to go in and pay in person. No problem until our credit union re-issued the Visa card as a secured chipped card. Tops, Rim Ping and the hospitals had no problem accepting the chipped Visa card, but it's baffled the idiots at TrueVisions almost every month.

They go to use it and some don't hit the right combination of keys on the computer screen and they get a message that "there's not enough money in the account". "Emm, ladies it's not a debit card, so the amount of money in the account isn't relevant. That card has a line of credit sufficient to justify my retirement visa." Of course, that doesn't mean anything to them and at that point the card has been locked. They insist the card is "no good" and at that point it is, actually.

The interesting thing is that the card is still accepted at Tops, Rim Ping, etc. but I have to call Visa in the U.S. and get them to unlock "True Money" that's the way it shows up when they request a charge.

Last night when I called them because, once again, there was a problem, the Visa people implied there was an on-going problem with charges from "True Money". Anyone else had a problem?

Maybe it is you, your card, Visa, Inc., and/or the credit union that issued the card that is causing this.

I see no reason to call the people at TrueVisions idiots no matter whose fault it is. This, to me, just shows your disdain for Thai people.

There have been numerous news stories in English which are available in Thailand talking about the new chip cards and also about problems in using them.

No I will stand by my calling the staff at Truevisions "idiots" for saying that my "credit card doesn't have enough money". That is an idiotic thing to say. They clearly lack training. It doesn't show dislike of all Thai people. If you had read my post, you'd see that I use the same card without any problems at many other business here in Chiang Mai. Truevisions has a monopoly so they obviously feel they don't have to train their employees and their employees know they don't have to treat the customers with respect. It is very disrespectful for them to say my card "doesn't have enough money" month after month when the problem is clearly on their end. I don't have this problem with any other merchant anywhere else in Chiang Mai and there is ONE gal with a few brain cells tied together who can manage to get their system to accept the card, assuming none of her co-workers has had a go with it first and caused it to get locked up.

So stop saying I have "disdain for Thai people", when I just have disdain for the Truevisions staff at KSK and wondered if anyone else had a similar problem there.

(Geesh, this isn't the first time you've tried to twist the facts and paint me as a bigot, either. You clearly don't know me.)

He/she has not twisted facts.

You do not know yourself if you think you have not shown disdain for Thai people repeatedly in yout writings.

Calling people idiots is simply rude.

They are not idiots just because they have one skill set you find deficient. Your particular group of skill sets does not preclude your being deficient or an idiot about many things.

[Mark123456]

I noticed when I got my PIN wrong in a branch of Sizzlers that the machine displayed a message saying there was not enough money to pay the bill, It's not necessarily the staff that are idiots, it's perhaps the software in the card readers that leads them to believe such things. Also, it is perfectly possible to get this message with a credit card, if the machine thinks you have exceeded your line of credit, so its not due to any confusion between debit and credit cards, just a linguistic misunderstanding by the sound of it.

A problem that occurs with the same card in the same store, month after month..... The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Edited May 25, 2016 by Mark123456

[NancyL]

I noticed when I got my PIN wrong in a branch of Sizzlers that the machine displayed a message saying there was not enough money to pay the bill, It's not necessarily the staff that are idiots, it's perhaps the software in the card readers that lead them to believe such things. Also, it is perfectly possible to get this message with a credit card, if the machine thinks you have exceeded your line of credit so its not due to any confusion between debit and credit cards, just a linguistic misunderstanding by the sound of it.

A problem that occurs with the same card in the same store, month after month..... The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Yes, it is "idiocy" when I tell them it's a credit card and they input the sale as if it's a debit card. And no I haven't had the problem with them in recent months. Actually it was "fixed" when a certain employee disappeared for a time, but now she's back and the problem has started again. She tells me she's the manager, when I ask to speak with the manager. She also tells me there isn't "enough money in my account."

Yes, I know there are at least 5 or 6 other ways to pay the Truevisions bills, but I'm just curious if anyone else has this problem with this particular shop.

[JimGant]

I noticed when I got my PIN wrong in a branch of Sizzlers

I never thought Sizzlers would ask for a PIN, since in Thailand the POS machines defer to the "chip and signature" mode (or "swipe and signature" mode for a non chip -- or inop chip -- card). Was your card a European "chip and pin" card, with no fallback option to "chip and signature" mode?

Sorry to get off track, but just trying to imagine the scenario where Sizzlers (in Thailand) would ask for a PIN....

[Mark123456]

Not enough money in the account is just a translation of the Thai wording on the card readers, it doesn't mean they think credit cards have money In an account. I've used credit and debit cards in many shops here but I've never noticed a difference in the way they are processed. What do they do differently?

[Mark123456]

I noticed when I got my PIN wrong in a branch of Sizzlers

I never thought Sizzlers would ask for a PIN, since in Thailand the POS machines defer to the "chip and signature" mode (or "swipe and signature" mode for a non chip -- or inop chip -- card). Was your card a European "chip and pin" card, with no fallback option to "chip and signature" mode?

Sorry to get off track, but just trying to imagine the scenario where Sizzlers (in Thailand) would ask for a PIN....

My debit cards are for UK bank accounts but can be used with or without a PIN. Some shops ask for it and some don't. I'm not sure whether the credit card I used has a similar fallback option because I don't use it very often.

[watcharacters]

yawn. US bank..no annual fee, chip protected, 12 ways to set notifications of use, locations, etc..gave me 35.36 to the USD this week, and if I spend 750 USD in the first three months I get enough miles for a one way ticket from DC to BKK....others prefer to do things the hard way.

Is the name of that bank a secret? Or do you wish to share with others?

[watcharacters]

After living here for three years, I used my US credit card for the first time at a shoe shop at Central World in Bangkok. In a few weeks, charges showed up for $4000 in Paris, France. I had not used my credit card at any other place.

It took me three months and $250 to resolve the problem: Phone calls, police reports, but mostly the cost of sending documents to the USA.

The experience taught me to use my credit cards sparingly In SE Asia.

Caveat Emptor.

Shop SAfe© ... BofA

[watcharacters]

On a somewhat related note -- has anyone had problems using a foreign-issued credit card at the Truevisions store in Kad Suan Kaew?

I like to use my U.S.-issued Visa credit card each month in person to pay the bill. Heck, I'm in KSK 3-4 times a week, so it's no big deal to go in and pay in person. No problem until our credit union re-issued the Visa card as a secured chipped card. Tops, Rim Ping and the hospitals had no problem accepting the chipped Visa card, but it's baffled the idiots at TrueVisions almost every month.

They go to use it and some don't hit the right combination of keys on the computer screen and they get a message that "there's not enough money in the account". "Emm, ladies it's not a debit card, so the amount of money in the account isn't relevant. That card has a line of credit sufficient to justify my retirement visa." Of course, that doesn't mean anything to them and at that point the card has been locked. They insist the card is "no good" and at that point it is, actually.

The interesting thing is that the card is still accepted at Tops, Rim Ping, etc. but I have to call Visa in the U.S. and get them to unlock "True Money" that's the way it shows up when they request a charge.

Last night when I called them because, once again, there was a problem, the Visa people implied there was an on-going problem with charges from "True Money". Anyone else had a problem?

Maybe it is you, your card, Visa, Inc., and/or the credit union that issued the card that is causing this.

I see no reason to call the people at TrueVisions idiots no matter whose fault it is. This, to me, just shows your disdain for Thai people.

There have been numerous news stories in English which are available in Thailand talking about the new chip cards and also about problems in using them.

No I will stand by my calling the staff at Truevisions "idiots" for saying that my "credit card doesn't have enough money". That is an idiotic thing to say. They clearly lack training. It doesn't show dislike of all Thai people. If you had read my post, you'd see that I use the same card without any problems at many other business here in Chiang Mai. Truevisions has a monopoly so they obviously feel they don't have to train their employees and their employees know they don't have to treat the customers with respect. It is very disrespectful for them to say my card "doesn't have enough money" month after month when the problem is clearly on their end. I don't have this problem with any other merchant anywhere else in Chiang Mai and there is ONE gal with a few brain cells tied together who can manage to get their system to accept the card, assuming none of her co-workers has had a go with it first and caused it to get locked up.

So stop saying I have "disdain for Thai people", when I just have disdain for the Truevisions staff at KSK and wondered if anyone else had a similar problem there.

(Geesh, this isn't the first time you've tried to twist the facts and paint me as a bigot, either. You clearly don't know me.)

He/she has not twisted facts.

You do not know yourself if you think you have not shown disdain for Thai people repeatedly in yout writings.

Calling people idiots is simply rude.

They are not idiots just because they have one skill set you find deficient. Your particular group of skill sets does not preclude your being deficient or an idiot about many things.

DAnte,

The lady is OK.

Maybe she slipped up with her wording. Could it be a good time for a chill pill?