Brillance stole my credit card number

[dcward89]

The same thing happened to us in January 2012, 3 days after arriving home from our cruise on Serenade of the Seas. I noticed charges we did not make to ITunes...at the time we didn't even have an ITunes account. It also happened to my in-laws in that same time frame and they were on the cruise with us. I did use my Royal Caribbean Visa in some of the ports but my in-laws did not. Their card is used exclusively for their cruises and is only used to purchase and pay for the cruise and any onboard purchases...everything else is cash for them. The exact same thing happened to my brother-in-law and his wife after a cruise on Voyager of the Seas several years ago. Maybe it's all coincidental but it seems fishy to me.

[pcur]

I have an email alert on all our credit and ATM cards. Anytime one of them is used, I get an instant alert. If it's used fraudulently, I can be on it in seconds.

 

It's kind of amusing, because I'll go out to the car and wait while my hubby pays the bill at a restaurant, and I'll get the alert by the time he's walking out the front door.

 

I also have LifeLock.

[Clarea]

I have an email alert on all our credit and ATM cards. Anytime one of them is used, I get an instant alert. If it's used fraudulently, I can be on it in seconds.

 

It's kind of amusing, because I'll go out to the car and wait while my hubby pays the bill at a restaurant, and I'll get the alert by the time he's walking out the front door.

 

I also have LifeLock.

That's a nice feature. I do that on our Discover card, but the alert has a minimum of $300, which I'd like to be lower.

[pcur]

That's a nice feature. I do that on our Discover card, but the alert has a minimum of $300, which I'd like to be lower.

 

All my Chase cards are any amount and I get the alert. My BofA cards have a $100 threshold for the ATM card, and any amount for the Visa card.

 

I've had one Chase card in particular that has been used fraudulently multiple times and had to be replaced. We only keep it for emergencies now because it has a high credit limit, and use our Chase Sapphire card instead. I love the alerts.

[pcur]

I have the same thing set up. I have been on the phone with royal making a payment and have been able to tell them it went through before there screen refreshed to confirm.

 

DW thinks I am watching her and gets a little mad if she goes out to buy me something as a surprise and I know about it. :)

 

Yeah, I know: I almost feel like I'm snooping on hubby. But, we are soooooo "one pot" type of people when it comes to money, that he could care less now.

[steveru621]

In order to charge a purchase on Walmart.com you need to have the 3 digit CVV code printed on the back of the card. Skimming the card does not give you that number. You need to have looked at that number on the back of the card. You had to have the physical card in your hand. Walmart.com also uses AVS (Address Verification Service) for the billing address. Someone also had to have the address where your credit card bill is sent.

 

Normally the only person from RCCL to see the card is on the dock, no one on the ship has any reason to see the card. You use your SeaPass for purchases. If the credit card number is on the Brilliance computers, the 3 digit code to make an online purchase is not.

 

All reputable websites require both pieces of information to match the credit card number before an Internet purchase will be approved. A clerk on an island may have the card but not your address.

 

Who had access to the physical card and your address? Something is just not quite right here.

[north29]

I had a charge to walmart.com three weeks ago and had not been on a ship since February and didn't even take the card that was used. It can happen anywhere.

 

That being said, I also had charges at Publix in Fort Lauderdale and a few other charges in Fort Lauderdale the day that I got off of Oasis a few years ago and it WAS the card that I had used for my on board account and no where else on the trip. We went directly from the ship to the airport. They were made during the time I was sitting at FLL. I do not blame Royal Caribbean for this, but it is apparent that SOMEONE associated with the ship used my card number to make purchases the day the ship was in port only.

 

I do not understand the publix charge, they are not an online company, so the person making the charge would needed to have a card with the same number as yours to buy something there.

I know it is an outside chance, but did you find out anything on how it happened?

[Desert Cruizers]

An airline charge got on my husbands credit card, and we never left Calif, the credit card company removed the charges and issued him a new card. This was the only charge so thought the wrong # got put in. Our card say ended in 4, the ladies card ended in 3 or 5.

[Older Party]

I just came off June 8 sailing of Brillance. 2 days after arriving home there is a charge on my card I used on the ship and it's not mine. They charged Walmart.com during the night. I only use this RCL visa on ships while crusing.

I feel this could not be a coincendence. Beware of credit card fraud while cruising!

 

ANYTIME you let your credit card out of sight with a server, or store employee, you leave yourself open to them noting your info and using the card electronically for their own purchases. This is common practice today. It could have been a crew member who had your card out of sight, or even someone sitting next to you when your card was visible. I had a guy on his cell phone snap a photo of my card when I placed it on the bar to pay for drinks at an airport. He charged two airline tickets with it. You can't be too careful nowadays.

[steveru621]

I do not understand the publix charge, they are not an online company, so the person making the charge would needed to have a card with the same number as yours to buy something there.

I know it is an outside chance, but did you find out anything on how it happened?

 

The card would have had to be skimmed. There is a code on the mag stripe that must match the card number.

[steveru621]

ANYTIME you let your credit card out of sight with a server, or store employee, you leave yourself open to them noting your info and using the card electronically for their own purchases. This is common practice today. It could have been a crew member who had your card out of sight, or even someone sitting next to you when your card was visible. I had a guy on his cell phone snap a photo of my card when I placed it on the bar to pay for drinks at an airport. He charged two airline tickets with it. You can't be too careful nowadays.

 

Not possible on Walmart.com. You need the correct house number to complete the purchase.

[freebygsy]

Apart from the check-in clerk and the RCCL admin office, no one else would even know the full number of your card. Credit Card numbers are just that numbers and the fraudsters can generate them, the biggest problem with CC fraud are the online companies that are happy to take payment without popper verification, It amazes me how many USA web sites allow CC payment without the additional Visa or MC checks.

 

I even top up my SunPass with a UK card and have to enter a USA Zip Code and the payments are taken without problem, and this is a Government site.

[slvrbllt]

My mother had an issue with a card that she activated over the phone and put in her safe at home. Never used it anywhere. Someone bought over 2K of airline tickets... It happens everywhere and to anyone. One of our cards never leaves home (internet purchases only) and someone made a physical card and used it in Ohio.

[snownyet]

This is why I'll never again use a debit card on vacation. Ive been a victim of debit card fraud twice and in my experience its a much bigger hassle to clear up than a credit card fraud occurence, and you dont get YOUR money back until the bank agrees it was fraud. Even with the silly Visa logo on the debit card.