customs question

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

An issue to consider with the USD-Peso exchange via ATMs in Cancun and Cozumel is the rumored security concern. Apparently some ATMs have been configured internally to extract card data via bluetooth. I believe this is on third party ATMs seen on the street, in hotel lobbies, etc and not those in banks. But the bank ATMs may not be 100% secure. The suggested test was to use your phone to check for a bluetooth signal originating from the ATM. If having your card data at risk is an issue for you, it certainly may be safer to get pesos in the US and get a bit less in the exchange. I happened on an article but an internet security guru, but as with all things Google, consider the source.

 

[mediumone]

An issue to consider with the USD-Peso exchange via ATMs in Cancun and Cozumel is the rumored security concern. Apparently some ATMs have been configured internally to extract card data via bluetooth. I believe this is on third party ATMs seen on the street, in hotel lobbies, etc and not those in banks. But the bank ATMs may not be 100% secure. The suggested test was to use your phone to check for a bluetooth signal originating from the ATM. If having your card data at risk is an issue for you, it certainly may be safer to get pesos in the US and get a bit less in the exchange. I happened on an article but an internet security guru, but as with all things Google, consider the source.

Every single one of those ATM's that was found to be compromised was a free-standing non-bank ATM -- but I think you knew that already. But the "study" made for a helluva read, didn't it?

You state that bank ATM's may not be 100% secure. Couldn't you make that statement about every single ATM on the planet?

Yes, lets go ahead and re-post "rumored security concerns."

 

[cvchief]

You state that bank ATM's may not be 100% secure. Couldn't you make that statement about every single ATM on the planet?

Yes, yes you can say that. Bank ATM are compromised in the US all the time. The real difference in that security article was workers from an ATM servicing company and possibly an actually non-bank ATM company were compromised. In the end though, it doesn't make any real difference to the user. Perhaps only in that those ATM off premise from a bank may be serviced by a third party and be therefor of higher risk.

I would and have used the Santander ATM often at the bank on 10th ave, but I know it could be compromised just like any other, just less likely.

I do like a little Xoom, where I don't have to expose the card at all. However, most cards are very well covered in the US under the law, so you roll the dice and take your chances. Always have a back up card or 2 in case an issue arises.

Heck I have use my credit card in restaurants that walk away with the card. That is an EASY way to get compromised. Maybe Coz restaurants now bring it to the table so you never lose control of it.

 

[Skittl1321]

Heck I have use my credit card in restaurants that walk away with the card. That is an EASY way to get compromised. Maybe Coz restaurants now bring it to the table so you never lose control of it.

I've had credit cards stolen numerous times (the credit card company has always reversed the charges), once with many thousands of dollars worth of charges where the CC company actually made us file a police report because it was such a large reversal (the police were like 'so? what do you want us to do?' Personally I thought they should go arrest the person as they got on the plane... we had their name, and what location they'd be at at a certain time...). This has always been in the USA. My card has always been just fine after a trip to Cozumel.

Things can happen anywhere. It's not a Cozumel issue.

 

[scubafanatic]

While I appreciate and understand your comment, I could have done without the 'Terrible Advice' snarky retort.

I don't know where the banks are located. I don't know if the foyer is open or locked, and when. I don't know if the ATM will be in English or Spanish. I don't know which ATMs to trust and which will steal my identity.

I arrive with Pesos in my pocket that I got at an excellent exchange rate back home. I don't have to make an extra trip to the bank. I don't have to worry. I just start my vacation.

It may not be what you prefer to do, but it works great for me. I wish someone had told me before my first trip to Mexico.

I agree with your logic, there's just way too much monkey business going on these days to risk an ATM, and I'll bet the exchange rate you'd get at your local bank is pretty much the same as you'd get at a Cozumel ATM anyway, without the worry and the risks. Any exchange rate 'premium' I might end up paying is trivial compared to the heartache of fraud!

 

[mediumone]

I agree with your logic, there's just way too much monkey business going on these days to risk an ATM, and I'll bet the exchange rate you'd get at your local bank is pretty much the same as you'd get at a Cozumel ATM anyway, without the worry and the risks. Any exchange rate 'premium' I might end up paying is trivial compared to the heartache of fraud!

You are presenting an opinion as fact. The facts do not support your opinion.

I do support your right to an opinion, and take whatever steps you deem necessary.

 

[scubafanatic]

You are presenting an opinion as fact. The facts do not support your opinion.

I do support your right to an opinion, and take whatever steps you deem necessary.

On my last Cozumel trip, I had a card compromised, and I only used the card ONE TIME during the trip, when I checked out of my hotel and paid my weekly restaurant tab (I'd prepaid for the hotel and all dives and Nitrox well in advance of the trip with the US dive shop that had set up my travel arrangements, and I brought cash for dive tipping/incidentals). Within just a few days of my return I had fraudulent charges popping up on my card, and I hadn't used the card for anything else recently, and I had the card cancelled and charges refunded. It's not a 'dig' against Cozumel. (I didn't even risk using an ATM at all while there as I brought 'tipping/emergency cash with me). It's a commentary on the world of rampant fraud/crime we live in.

 

[gopbroek]

A year ago last month I was in the middle of a solo dive trip in Cozumel and my wife tracked me down and told me to call Visa. I called them (and was late for dinner at El Moro), it turns out my card had been hacked to the tune of $4600 over a period of three days. They had froze the card when the fraud triggers went off but due to my sporatic travel and usage the internal triggers were pretty loose, but they covered everything without arguments.
.
I had only used the card twice in the previous two weeks. I bought a round of drinks in a bar in the west end area of Dallas and two bottles of Crown Royal at the duty free in DFW. I suspect the west end bar was the source of the fraud. My point to this is fraud can happen at any point of transaction, anywhere.

 

[cvchief]

I've had credit cards stolen numerous times (the credit card company has always reversed the charges), once with many thousands of dollars worth of charges where the CC company actually made us file a police report because it was such a large reversal (the police were like 'so? what do you want us to do?' Personally I thought they should go arrest the person as they got on the plane... we had their name, and what location they'd be at at a certain time...). This has always been in the USA. My card has always been just fine after a trip to Cozumel.

Things can happen anywhere. It's not a Cozumel issue.

Yea, typically you report to your police and the criminal and the investigation would have to take place someplace else. That means trying to get someone in ANOTHER department to investigate your case. And the CC aren't that helpful.

We had a crew with like 50 give or take cloned credit cards. I think 5 or 6 banks responded to the requests for info. End of the day I think they got ordered to make restitution to 3 banks who followed through. Actually victims were ALL over the US, one in Russia, Italy and few other Europeans thrown in. You can't even arrest them for everything when the bank won't cooperate. It is absolutely just written off.

I did have my personal card hit and I noticed by chance right away. The bought airline ticket and I actually had them jerked off the plane in Phoenix. Sadly they were juveniles and no one was paying for them to be shipped back to face the music.

 

[mediumone]

My point to this is fraud can happen at any point of transaction, anywhere.

You are absolutely right, and I couldn't agree more enthusiastically.

Most of us have stories. The last time I got hit, it was from an Amazon.com purchase.

My whole thing is lumping credit/debit card issues into one catch-all alarmist pot. I know a bunch of people on the mainland who've lived there from 6 to 20+ years, and who do all of their banking via ATM. Want to guess how many times a card of theirs has been compromised? Never, not once.

Has it ever happened? Of course it has. That being said, the boss and I have been wandering around in the late evening/night, and have come upon people who have been positively cross-eyed drunk, using a Cashola machine. The subsequent weeping and wailing when their card is compromised is a spectacle to behold.