TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands CC info compromised - tip for next time

I had a credit card compromised last week in BVI. I only used that card for two transactions, both of which we had to put down on a form, and verify the last 4 / security code over the phone. One was with the government for fishing licenses, the other a provisioning order.

Most banks / cc companies allow you to create a one-time use, virtual card tied to your account. Perfect for these type of transactions and something I'll do next time. I also had alerts set up on my phone, so I was able to freeze the card fast when I saw the suspicious charge.

Where did you provision?

ill dm you bailau

Can you let me know as well where you provisioned?
We just got confirmation of our provision order and have yet to issue the CC. There is no way we would have time to get a replacement card now as we are too close to leaving for our charter.

sent.

Thank you

Not exactly a solution but as a mitigation step, I got a dedicated card for my trip and used it for all my CC transactions.

I had been thinking about getting an Apple Card anyway and someone had mentioned that using a secondary card so that you don't have to cancel your main card (used for all your other auto-payments, etc.) should your card be compromised, is a good idea. So I got the card and used it wherever I could use a CC. No compromises on it so it wasn't really an issue but peace of mind at least.

This is what I do.

I have a no foreign transaction card from Cap One that I ONLY use internationally. I also have a checking account and debit card for this purpose too.

I can charge, get cash, etc.... All from accounts that are not my daily use ones.

Keith

Can you please PM me where you provisioned? About to place an order... Thanks!

Please post the name publically so we can take precautions!

Why are you all presuming it was the provisioning company? Far more crooks in the Government offices

It's not fair to their business to call them out publicly here. I can't prove it was them, and I suspect it the fishing licenses that got me anyway.

Update: they placed an order with an e-commerce site and they were kind enough to share the contact info and shipping. Weren't able to stop the order in time, however. Went to a PO Box in Cruz Bay. I shared the details with the Fisheries dept and the provisioning company in case they recognize it. Also shared the shipping info and details with the VI police. Curious if they do anything.

I'm just curious..... what did they order to be shipped to St John PO Box?

Would you ship stolen goods to your house?

Many people here have St. John's PO boxes. It is convenient for orders from the US.

Yes agree with a cc dedicated to the “riskier” transactions…
We also use a checking/debit account that removes all ATM transaction fees from our monthly statement. We can spend several weeks to several months at a time abroad and use ATMs often…

I think they knew when we were chartering and made the purchase mid-week, perhaps trying to get us when we weren't paying attention. It's also a good idea to have notifications handy for new transactions. We were able to freeze the card within a couple of minutes, preventing any additional purchases.

I had to file a police report here in Houston to get the ball rolling. Stolen goods arrive to the Cruz Bay PO Box on Friday...we'll see if they do anything about it.

Yes notifications are a must, especially for an account used for travel…

Funny, my credit card is often compromised when I am in BVI. I first suspected ferry trips, but then when I paid cash for them it still seems to happen. I always travel with two credit cards, and hubby had at least two as well. It happened to me in Italy and just recently in the Bahamas too. So seems nowhere is safe. Always good to have back up payment methods.

Just back from a lovely 2weeks - pretty sure our card’s not compromised, but also kind of sure we sent one to Davy Jones’ locker somewhere along the way….after dinner swim for a dropped flip flop off the dinghy dock, climbed back up with shorts pocket turned out by the wave action….keep an eye out it while diving/snorkeling…🤣

Cancel the card and reissue?

Oh yeah, that’s happened. But another good reason to have more than 1 form of payment available for the duration of the trip…