It appears that my credit card was "skimmed" sometime during the MOTD event and I only used it at 2 places while there. Once @ Fontana Village and once @ Bryson City. A successful attempt was made in Cincinatti OH on the 9th for $336.85 @ a Walgreens and another attempt was made but declined later at a gas station.
I did not pass through Ohio on my way to or from Missouri !!!
My bank says that this has resulted from someones sales system being hacked.
Check your credit cards for any suspecious charges.

No emoticons were injured in this post but one of them is pooped out and my bank will cover the loss so motor on

 

Wow! Thanks for the warning.

 

Thanks for the heads up

 

Thanks.

 

Dude... I thought I was the only one

My credit card company froze my card Monday afternoon because they noticed multiple charges that occurred within a few minutes from each other. They were on the phone with my wife going over charges for the past week. I ok'd all of the charges that occurred while at Fontana.

All of the bogus charges were made on the internet (porno sites ) and no it wasn't me!!! I was waiting for my MINI that was at Patrick MINI for service when the charges hit.

Now I'm waiting for new cards... Thank goodness my cc company noticed the activity and acted quickly.

 

This happened to me a few years ago - the theft occurred at a full service gas station. Wonder if either of you used such a service in the area?

Sorry to hear it happen, but glad it was caught!

 

We shred EVERYTHING! We monitor every transaction. We change passwords. We do business online with SSL & verified online retailers. And yet twice in the past year we've been victims of identity theft! One was an attempt to use Western Union to wire funds within the country. The other, two weeks ago, was an actual credit card swipe to buy over $300 at Toys-R-Us and another for $70 at some bath boutique ... in France! Both took over a week to resolve and get back to full function.

The cool thing is that even though this happens quite frequently, it is very possible to recover. Stay on your toes at all times!

 

I just checked the card I used at the Fontana and fortunately I found everything A-Okay.

That noted, the only concern I have is their attempt to charge me with a dinner at the Fontana Hotel. When I checked out they tacked ~$20 extra for a meal on Thursday night. I refused the charge knowing it was false, not a peep from them since. Not a lot of money, but still irritating. I found it odd that they couldn't produce the paper work to substantiate the charge - "Must be down in accounting...", how convenient.

I purposely took a bit of cash this year to avoid using my debit card. Hearing of this makes that decision seem worthy and I'll do the same next year me thinks...

Hopefully your incident is an isolated occurrence. Thanks for the heads-up though!

 

Not me. self-serve gas everytime... the only other place (other than Fontana) I used a card was at Cracker Barrel in Maryville. otherwise, cash only.

I'll probably request a free credit history now to make sure everything else is ok...

 

One place to be VERY wary of skimmers is on locked ATM vestibule doors at the bank... the crook attaches the skimmer next to the door with tape and then tapes down the locking tab on the door (so it's effectively open all the time). The mark skims their card to "open the door" and the card number is captured. More sophisticated schemes then capture the PIN using a tiny camera mounted to a surface in the ATM - it's not hard to infer the PIN from the camera tape. Most security speciailsts advise you to even sheild your hand when typing in your PIN (seriously) in case there's a camera you can't see (read as: across the room, stuck to the ceiling) focused on the keypad. Be on the lookout for ANYTHING attached to the inside of an ATM -- everything in the ATM should be INSIDE the ATM housing and if it's "stuck on" anyplace alert the bank's security team ASAP!

Can you tell that I work in banking security?

Sorry this happened to you man, but the good news is that since you reported it so fast the bank should reimburse you under Reg-E. It's a pain to fill out the police report and do the paperwork (I've been there and feel your pain) but it's better than having your wallet and SSN card stolen, believe me.

 

So scary, and not fun to deal with. A few years back, hubby's CC was skimmed somewhere and whoever did it ordered a 42-inch plasma screen TV, sent to North Carolina! Citibank didn't catch it (odd, they're usually very good), and when we got our statement hubby was like "Did you buy something for $3400??"

Pain, but the banks have gotten really good about taking care of that kind of stuff.

 

It's a really nice TV, Melissa. My kids are loving it in the playroom...

 

I knew it!

 

When I travelled for work allot it happened frequently. I happened at a big name chain hotel in Georgia. They stole my number and used it for online charges. Amex helped me revrse the charges. I have also had it happen on my Target Visa card. Once again trying to make odd online charges. Target Visa was all over and put a freeze on my Account ASAP. All was taken care of in a matter of days.

Always Always check your statements after a trip.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I have a certain card that I use for purchases online that only has a 500 limit (it is so nice that the bank will keep it that way), so if someone steals it, at least they can't charge lots of money!

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Scary....I checked my purchases even though my card was only used at self-serve gas stations and Fontana Inn on the whole trip. Hope it all works out for those affected.