by Alice Shaffer
I just got back from 6 days in Hawaii. While there I thought I had lost one of my credit cards, my ING Direct check card. I called them up and verified some information to prove who I was. I didn’t know my account information nor could grab it from my online. I confirmed with the lady about my last purchases. Luckily all of them had been back home, looked like I didn’t bring my card with me to Hawaii. The best part of this was that she placed a temporary hold on my credit card that allowed me to get home and look for my card. There it was today in my purse along with my other “cards” that I didn’t bring on vacation with me. I called ING back today and they “unfroze” my card and it is good to go again.
Read one person’s account of how their credit card was hacked and how alerts that were set up saved them money and lots of headaches. I know I will be looking into setting up these alerts for my American Express and MasterCard.
Two Great Credit Card Tips From a Reader over at Budgets are Sexy
I am traveling again in a week and half to Florida for the INA conference. I am going to be contacting my credit cards to let them know that I am traveling so that charges go through.
Have you ever had issues with traveling and credit cards or being hacked? Let us know!
About 10 days before I left for Hawaii I received an email from my credit card company asking me to verify my information. It had the banks logo on it and looked like it came from the company. I clicked on the link and entered all my information. Hit the submit button and nothing. I called the company and it was a pfishing scam. I had never heard of this. I had to cancel my card and wait for a new one to come merely days before I was leaving. I also had to put a credit freeze on everything to make sure my other accounts were not compromised.
My new card came in time and I enjoyed my vacation but I learned an important lesson. NEVER click on links of a bank email asking for personal information, passwords, ss# etc. Go directly to their website. Better yet, call and verify over the phone.