Tips for avoiding theft and credit card fraud at conventions

Never use a 3rd party ATM in a hotel or convention center



Always go to a bank, even if it isn’t your bank. ATMs in banks are under constant surveillance and regularly inspected for skimmers and hidden cameras. Third party ATMs are often placed in secluded areas an not inspected frequently, which makes them easy targets for fraudsters. EMV (chip and pin) isn’t perfect and there have been successful attacks on the technology in the past, so even these are not always immune to a compromised ATM or payment terminal.



Keep possession of your cards at all times

Since the roll out of EMV, there has been a massive increase in fraudulent card not present transactions (such as online transactions requiring a card number and security code). It only takes a few seconds for someone to snap a picture of your card and security code when you’re not looking, so don’t let your cards out of your sight!

Avoid magstripe transactions



The magnetic stripe data on your card is incredibly easy to copy onto another card and use for fraudulent transactions. This data could easily be captured by a card skimmer or a compromised point of sale system. Pay dealers that only have a magnetic stripe reader using cash or an escrow service.



Keep your receipts



Your receipt is a transaction record that can be used to dispute a fraudulent transaction, particularly in cases where the total listed on the receipt does not match the actual amount you were charged.



In the case of EMV cards, the numbers that you see printed at the bottom of your receipt also contain metadata about the transaction that would be useful to someone investigating a fraudulent transaction.

