Credit Cards

Yesterday we discovered to our horror that our bank account had been emptied via the internet with someone using one of our credit cards. The cards had never left our possession so we don´t know how they did it. We phoned the card people to stop the card which they did but the account was already empty by then. They told us to go to the police. The police were shut in the afternoon so we went this morning but they wouldn´t do anything as we didn´t speak Spanish. Tried to phone the card people again but at the weekend they don´t speak English either. There is nothing we can do until Monday and money is still going out of our account as I write.

I suggest two things in the first and immediate instance; YOU withdraw/transfer your money as quickly as you can to prevent further loss and if you're unable to speak with the relevant people in Spanish perhaps you should try Becky @ Vista. I don't know what the number is or what hours she works down there but I have heard she is fluent and offers translation services.

Uk or Spanish bank?

There is a spate of it going round at the moment, my ex had her account emptied by someone in america, the bank were great and stop her card straight away and because she could prove she wasnt in america all her money is being put back in, there is no way of stopping these people hacking into accounts, the only thing to do is to monitor your accounts on a regular basis.
We had a guy when i worked for Fujitsu who broke into my account within 20 minutes and allhe had was my date of birth.

A good start to protecting yourself (and I'm not saying this is what happened in your case lindyloo) is to not read or forward these stupid emails that get passed about by morons who think the sob story in them is true. These emails can contain Trojans that log your key stokes and then send them on to the email originating hackers.

And on places like farcebook you shouldn't reveal your real name or date of birth. Sad but true.

or forums like this one too, i am 21 really

How terrible for you sucj stress not needed either I'm sure your bank will be insured even here !

I had my Mastercard nicked once by a staff member at a Thistle hotel in London, who then went on a big shopping spree...

I underlined all the stolen amounts on my statement, reported it to the police, to get a crime reference number, and eventually got it all back - credit card companies are insured for this..

hope you get this sorted ASAP!!

Twisted Fire Starter wrote:A good start to protecting yourself (and I'm not saying this is what happened in your case lindyloo) is to not read or forward these stupid emails that get passed about by morons who think the sob story in them is true. These emails can contain Trojans that log your key stokes and then send them on to the email originating hackers.

Theres a few going around on farcebook at the moment. Easy to spot. You have to ask the question "what is the originator getting out of this" DONT FORWARD THEM ON & DONT EVER OPEN ANY SUSPICIOUS LINKS

Another couple of tips:
Never leave sight of your card EVER even when paying in a bar or restaurant.
Never let anybody wipe your card clean on a cloth or apron.
Allways cover your hand when you enter your pin onto any keypad
Dont read aloud your pin when you enter it.

Thanks for all your messages and phone calls. Yes the account was a Spanish one. Story so far is we went to the police this morning but as we didn´t speak Spanish they didn´t want to know, same with the credit card people. Alleged 24 hour service for lost or stolen cards but if you don´t speak the language all you get is a recorded message saying only Mondays to Fridays. Anyway raced around trying to find someone with enough Spanish to talk to the Credit card people. Everyone seems to be either on holiday or out, mind you one local translator just said ¨Ï don´t do translations any more¨and wouldn´t help even in an emergency. Finally got someone to help and would you believe it because she could speak Spanish the card people got an English translator for her. So card now stopped (hopefully).

Hi Lyndyloo, we think it would be the one we told you about she is great and is thought a lot of by the professional Spanish people and British “She is great”

Hi Lindyloo,
I know its a bit late but for future reference my husband is a professional Translator/interpreter. PM me for details.