I had forgotten about overseas use of American cards. They probably check more closely now [better electronic connections] , but when I was in Cuba the first time [yes, I was legal] I didn't take any credit cards because I didn't figure they would be good. I could have used them anywhere. The next trip [also legal] I left my cash at home and took the cards. What I didn't know is that in the intervening months our government had cut off payments on American credit cards used in Cuba. Let us just say that was a much more frugal trip [I was fully hosted, so not really a problem], not that there was much to spend it on anyhow. I didn't really need any more souvenirs anyway, but I did miss out a large book of old American stamps [all pre Castro] that I could have gotten at a flea market for $150 [a few months wages for most Cubans at that time]. One of my friends found one stamp in the very large album that was worth $300 by itself, with hundreds of others. Oh, well. BillR
-----Original Message----- From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of Curt Raymond Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:30 PM To: Diesel List Subject: Re: [MBZ] Fraudulent Credit Card A couple years ago my GM card (don't, just don't) was declined when I tried to buy gas. I called and they'd blocked it because of a possible fraudulent purchase (which wasn't) but couldn't tell me about it because my phone number was messed up in their records and apparently they didn't feel like mailing me something. So I got a replacement card sent which never arrived and suddenly somebody: A. Charges $16,000 in Saudi Arabia on my card B. Changes the card's listing of my mother's maiden name Strange no? I call and it takes FOREVER to explain all this to the bottom feeder on the phone. Even the "supervisor" doesn't understand, I have to go to a 4th(!) level of support to get somebody who understands that your mother's maiden name doesn't change... It took 6 full months to get this all worked out. The best part of the experience was like you say putting a warning on my file... The GM card I'd been using is gone, I went back to a Chase card I'd let go inactive. Its got better (ie something I'd use) rewards... -Curt Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 16:11:49 -0400 From: "Bill R" <billr32...@comcast.net> Subject: [MBZ] Fraudulent Credit Card To: "'Banned List'" <ban...@okiebenz.com>, <m-powe...@yahoogroups.com>, <mercedes@okiebenz.com> Message-ID: <004d01ca491c$be180e80$3a482b...@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" My apologies to the international folks getting this, but you might have similar situations where you are. I got a notice today from Juniper Bank [now Barclay's Bank Delaware - a UK based bank] thanking me for alerting them to the fraudulent account opened in my name, and making sure I had not authorized a card from them [I assume from the credit alert I put on our accounts]. The card # they had traced back to me. A call from Virgin America about unusual activity on my account did alert me [there was a gas purchase on the card in Pompano Beach] and the account is now closed. Virgin America was the issuer of the card through Barclay. I am a bit upset that Virgin America [who called me] then told me that they had not called me, and that I had no account with them. Not a bad idea to put the three month alert on yourself with the credit agencies. Experian was the one I .contacted, and they connected with the other two agencies for me. No charge for that. I have the 3 month reminder in my calendar, and plan to renew the alert every three months. Yes, I guess it can happen to anyone. Bill R -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com/attachments/20091009/f7 a0e050/attachment.html> _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
