Beware of Fraud in Internet cafes When Traveling
While traveling recently, I had a blow at the ATM. Due to insufficient funds, the bank will not let me withdraw money. I went to another bank and tried my ATM card again. Once again it was rejected. Now I was worried. Some ATMs seemed to have problems with my credit card, but had never been rejected by two banks in a row. And when a third of ATM did not disperse the money, I knew something was seriously wrong. Back to the hotel where he stayed and used his computer to connect to the website of my bank. From there I could access my own and discovered that my checking account had been diverted dry. I sat there, almost stunned at the screen. I was in the middle of Patagonia, and I had been the victim of fraud. Still had several weeks of vacation left - how do I manage? And how I can return to the United States? What happened? After receiving encouragement, I started thinking. I checked my account history and put some pieces. I soon realized that my account information was stolen. Several weeks earlier, had made a transaction through PayPal. I had done this in a café, a team must have had a keylogger program installed on it. My passwords had been stolen and my PayPal account has been accessed by a third party. Worst of all, my PayPal account is linked directly to my bank account, and the author had exhausted my bank account just for my own PayPal account and then sent the money for himself. The first thing I did was to notify my bank that there had been an unauthorized withdrawal from my checking account. Again from the hotel computer site I looked at my bank. The site had a toll free number to call on the services account, and most importantly, a list of dialing instructions for all countries. He quickly looked up the instructions for Argentina and with that, I called my bank 24-hour line fraud. Although the money had been withdrawn directly from my account, this allowed me to put a stop payment order on all future transactions. I also received a confirmation number of my situation, so in the future, I had proof that I had taken swift action. The second step I took was to notify PayPal that an unauthorized transaction had gone through my mind. This was done through their website. Having notified the company by email, I called the hotline to speak with a representative of the company. They set my account and gave me a case number so I could refer to my situation quickly. I have received pledges from both PayPal and my bank that the matter be investigated, but I had a sinking feeling that my case could disappear in the depths of a fraud file. Third, I changed the password for each account that was accessed at the same time I was away. I did it with the hope that the hotel's computer were less likely to be infected with spyware that can steal your password. From there one of my hotel employees agreed to act as a translator and the two of us went to the local police station to make a report. While local police rarely against Internet crime, I felt it was important to make a statement and obtain an official copy of the authorities. Having notified both my bank and PayPal, has changed all my passwords, and obtained a statement from the authorities, I felt I had done everything I could abroad. While the rest of my trip was pressing, with the generosity of my fellow travelers, I managed to eat and keep a roof over my head until I could fly back to America. And when I got home, I found that PayPal had kept his word and to reverse transactions that have taken place through my mind. I was incredibly lucky. Disappeared over a thousand dollars, and then returned. In considering this case of fraud, I realized many things. First, not a good idea to link directly to their financial accounts to other web sites. Second, if you make transactions online, it is vital that equipment use is safe. Most Internet cafes are not safe and administrators often do not keep their computers free of spyware. A simple test is to see if you can download and install a program on your computer in a cybercafe. If the installation is successful and the administrator does not raise an eyebrow, the team is uncertain. Best of all is to avoid transactions involving passwords, bank account or credit card numbers, especially when you are in an Internet cafe. And if you are a victim of fraud, then be sure to set the alarm as soon as possible. If everything goes wrong, be sure to bring a bank card backup linked to a separate account as an emergency fund. While I was traveling, I often broke all the rules. I checked my bank account several times and track my money spent and the types of change that was receiving. I never thought naively that such information could be easily used in a scam. I learned that fraud can occur anywhere in the world, even when you're on vacation. Caution and common sense when using a public computer can prevent online theft occurs first, and quick action can limit the damage if it was cheated.
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