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How a $2 shuttle ride turned into a costly credit card scam
A couple I know very well was recently visiting the Caribbean. On the way home, they needed to change terminals at the Cancun airport. They were required to take a shuttle bus to the next terminal to connect with their flight home.
At the end of the shuttle bus drive, the driver said that the company only takes "pesos" or "credit cards." The company would not take U.S. or Canadian currency. The traveller took the credit card reader into the back seat of the shuttle and entered his VISA card and PIN number. He did not reveal his PIN number or allow the driver to have the card. He did not allow the driver to see him enter his PIN. The charge was only about $2.00. All good.
On arrival home, he checked his credit card statement, and there was an unexpected charge of several thousand dollars. From the VISA statement, he copied the name of the business that made the charge. Then he did a Google search. Immediately, he found that several other travellers had been charged fraudulent charges from this company on their VISA and credit cards. They were all transportation-related: shuttle bus, taxis, or buses. Some were Canadians.
One consumer site had registered 63 similar fraud complaints for this business address back to 2022. Another site refers to these charges in 2023 and 2024. It is surprising that the frequency of people registering fraudulent transactions from this company on the Internet has not motivated all banks and credit card companies to freeze this business account. It strikes me as very unfair that a bank would knowingly allow its customers to be cheated by a business with a fraudulent track record.
The traveller is now "in discussions" with his bank to get the charge reversed. He has had contradicting replies from the bank with no final outcome, as yet. It will be interesting to learn the outcome.
When travelling, it is a good idea for all of us to assume that we could be subject to a scam or fraud. It would be a good idea to review what security measures your credit card company provides in the event of a scam like this. They seem to have different rules, and it is good to know what protection they offer.
At the end of the shuttle bus drive, the driver said that the company only takes "pesos" or "credit cards." The company would not take U.S. or Canadian currency. The traveller took the credit card reader into the back seat of the shuttle and entered his VISA card and PIN number. He did not reveal his PIN number or allow the driver to have the card. He did not allow the driver to see him enter his PIN. The charge was only about $2.00. All good.
On arrival home, he checked his credit card statement, and there was an unexpected charge of several thousand dollars. From the VISA statement, he copied the name of the business that made the charge. Then he did a Google search. Immediately, he found that several other travellers had been charged fraudulent charges from this company on their VISA and credit cards. They were all transportation-related: shuttle bus, taxis, or buses. Some were Canadians.
One consumer site had registered 63 similar fraud complaints for this business address back to 2022. Another site refers to these charges in 2023 and 2024. It is surprising that the frequency of people registering fraudulent transactions from this company on the Internet has not motivated all banks and credit card companies to freeze this business account. It strikes me as very unfair that a bank would knowingly allow its customers to be cheated by a business with a fraudulent track record.
The traveller is now "in discussions" with his bank to get the charge reversed. He has had contradicting replies from the bank with no final outcome, as yet. It will be interesting to learn the outcome.
When travelling, it is a good idea for all of us to assume that we could be subject to a scam or fraud. It would be a good idea to review what security measures your credit card company provides in the event of a scam like this. They seem to have different rules, and it is good to know what protection they offer.