Recently, received a call from Chase Amazon Visa Rewards card having some suspicious activity attached to it. According to the Fraud Department there was a charge on my card for $300 at Best Buy in Florida. I wish I was in Florida, but no, it wasn't me. Admittedly, this card was relegated to the sock drawer for awhile and glancing at my transaction history the only purchases I've made over the past 6 months or so were on Amazon -- the likelihood of them being compromised is next to nil. However, if we look past those 6 months, I remember going on a trip to Las Vegas where I used this card for virtually everything there. When you kind of reflect on it like that, it seems so 1+1 on what may have happened. It also makes sense that if your account were to be compromised, the perpetrator may wait for a bit and use time on their side to further complicate narrowing down where exactly your card essentially got skimmed. So for anyone travelling down south to a bit of a tourist destination like Las Vegas... #1 Cash is King, especially if you're purchasing from a smaller scale store. #2 If you decide to use a CC for anything other than your airline ticket or hotel, you may want to pay off your trip expenses once you return home and then ask your CC provider to send you a new card. In either case, may help give you some extra peace of mind. Another thing that helps is if your credit card has a built in system that will text or email you for every transaction. It can be useful for catching suspicious activity early.
Sorry, but that's a little overly cautious actually. Cash is NOT king in my opinion because if you lose the cash, it's simply gone. If you lose your credit card, you can cancel it and you haven't lost anything. Also, your card being used elsewhere actually doesn't mean that your card itself was stolen or even compromised. When I had this happen to me a few years ago, the agent reassured me that it was likely an automated system that had been used to run various number combinations until one was confirmed "real"...and then they were able to use the card numbers for a transaction at that point. It had nothing to do with me using my card anywhere considering I hadn't even used the card in 2 years (it as for an emergency only). They sent a new card, of course, but it wouldn't have prevented anything for me to replace it at random.
Jessi makes a good point. Better to lose the credit card than the cash on a trip. I would also point out that it sounds like you were using the card for online transactions. Even if the company you are dealing with is legitimate, it is possible that your transaction wasn't secure. It is possible that a virus or keylogger was active when you made a purchase. You software may have been a few days behind on updating and disabling it. Most antivirus software logs any activity it finds even if it removes a virus. Check the log and you may find there was something there during the time of one of your transactions. I do agree that cash is a good idea at smaller, unknown locations when on vacation. Dining out can be risky for your card if you hit some random place as opposed to a larger well known chain. Unfortunately no transactions or locations are guaranteed safe.
For this, you should just keep your receipts from those locations. If they charge you an incorrect amount later, you can just file a request as an incorrect charge. Even if the location disagrees (which is unlikely since you have proof and they wouldn't want a scuffle), your credit card company will cover you.
