Has anyone been asked to email/fax a picture of their credit card?

[dvguy]

Thank you all, for your responses and suggestions. Now I have a few good options to take back to WinAir.

Teamcasa, that's a really good idea about blacking-out all but the last three digits on the credit card......and Vladimir, you are correct, WinAir is the only air service from St. Maarten to Saba. There is a shuttle boat between the two islands, but my US Air flight gets in too late for the shuttle.... bummer. :14:

Regardless, I really appreciate all the replies. Thanks again... and happy diving.

 

[Damselfish]

I have done it with a credit card on one or two occasions, and haven't had a problem, but I don't remember who - I'm thinking it may have been Aggressor? The technical security aspect of faxing an image of a credit card doesn't worry me too much, and I don't think it's much more likely to be abused on the other end than when they just have the number and info to charge to. I suppose it depends how much you trust the company. It does bother me that they are taking away your ability to use a single use number if you want, which is more secure for you, but of course they don't care about that. An image of a passport page actually concerns me more but I don't believe I've been asked for that. That might be enough to push me to a travel agent. Blacking things out is a good idea.

 

[tvictory]

I'd contact whatever dive shop or hotel you'll be using on Saba and ask them. They're all used to dealing with WinAir and would certainly know if the new "policy" is legit.

 

[NCBabs]

This is not something you come across normally but even as a travel agency there has been a few times we had to do the same. SOmetimes these company's are so small and don't have the up to date equipment to run CC and is still hand writen that they require copies front and back for their records to verify. It goes back to the old slide your card on the carbon receipts and fill in the dollar amount and sign. Not sure when your traveling but you can also wait until you get to St Maarten and buy the ticket which then you take a chance the flight is full for they are hopper planes and fill up with locals going back and forth. I have been places where they will have the locals weigh on the scales before they could purchase a ticket due to over weigth issues.

 

[morecowbells]

I just flew Winair from St. Maarten to Saba and back one week ago from today. We booked online with a cc. I never received such a request. It sure sounds fishy to me.

 

[SelkieDVM]

I was asked to do this by Aggressor and didn't have any problems but I would think twice if I was not familiar with the company requesting it.

 

[Clammy]

Yes, I have. Apparently I have a long lost African royal relative in Nigeria (I'm Asian) who died and left me untold riches though he had never met me. I sent all my information to a lawyer including a bunch of money through western union to get around some obscure, hard to find, tax law and am now living the good life as I wait for my strange looking hand drawn Nigerian check to clear. Now I just have to send this to 15 other people and and Bill Gates will double my money as well as give Magic Johnson's secret cure to aids to a little girl in Ohio.

 

[lishen]

I would be skeptical, but I encountered the same thing while travelling in vietnam this past year (fax credit card front and back along with passport). I don't remember their exact reasoning but it had something to do with the bank and the processing of your credit card (and out of the merchant's hands). I do find it weird that they had already processed your card and reservation and then asked for a copy. In my case, they had asked for my card before processing any reservation.

 

[lil' castaway]

I received that email and called Winair. They told me the same thing. I told them I will not email my credit card and passport over the unsecured Internet. They said to just fax it to them and they will put it in their "secure" file cabinet in the back room. I told them that faxing is unsecured also. (And who knows who has access to the fax machine.) I never gave them my information or my name. I do not like the idea of a copy of my passport being in a foreign country!! Or my credit card! - even though that can be canceled. My credit card has been charged and I haven't received any further communication from Winair.


I googled Winair and found out that this has happened for a few years (so not a new policy). Many people have refused or have not received the email. I did not see anything where someone was actually canceled. One person told them they did not have a fax machine and Winair told them not to worry about it.

Hope this helps!

My trip is in June!!!!

MaryAnn

 

[Waterskier1]

I almost always use a "Virtual Credit Card" from CitiBank over the internet, or by FAX and often by telephone. It's a one-shot use, only good for one month max credit card number. But it doesn't work where you have to show your credit card matches that number, (like airline reservation e-tickets) because it won't.

To the question, I recently had an occasion to send some dive equipment to a purchaser in New Zealand. He paid by PayPal, but I was curious why so many would not participate in overseas transactions (besides the little be more effort to prepare the customs forms) so I went to a friend how manages the shipping depart for a major Money Museum. He said that, unless they are repeat customers, he always requires a valid photo ID (Passport, Gov't ID, Drivers License, etc.) showing the same name as on the credit card, and the same address as he's shipping to. When I asked why, he replied that the Credit Card abuse rules are for USA only (although there are other countries that also have rules). It is known that someone will steal a credit card number from someone, and order internationally with that number and name, and have it shipped elsewhere. There is no universal (international) protection against that, hence the additional validation. He doesn't ask for the Credit Card pictures, but the name on the Credit Card account and the name on the ID must match, as must the addresses. I suspect it's not 100% foolproof, but it certainly lowers risk significantly.

I would have no problem Faxing most anything, for the prospective of "theft enroute". But I would never email my credit card info. Well, I have, but I do it in several emails, one with my name, another with the number, and a third with the expiration date, and, if required, a fourth with the CVC code. Chances of an internet sniffer picking up all the emails, none of which have redundant info, and piecing it all together is very low. Chance of intercepting a FAX is very low.

As far as misuse of the Credit Card number once it's at the destination, it is no more likely than if they had a just the number. I think we should minimize the risk, but the only way to completely remove it is to do away with the Credit Card (and we are only eliminating credit card risk then).

As an aside, on a cruise I took several years ago, the cruise line suggested that I make a copy of all my credit cards, my driver's license, and my passport so that if I lost my wallet (or it was stolen) it would be easier to replace. I scanned all the documents, printed them out, and then said to myself "this is exactly what I would need if I were to steal someone's identity, or use their credit cards". I immediately shredded them.