Warning at Laredo

One the reasons I use cash when possible. Never a debit card.

Cash can get stolen and you have no recourse to get it back. I use a credit card when traveling because it's the bank's money I'm spending and not mine. I don't use a debit card because that is also my money that I'm out if the cared is compromised. Credit card is the safest to use.

dup post

Tequila wrote:
One of our customers used their Visa card at the Columbia crossing. It was the only place they used it. $1200 in illegal charges were then run up against it in Mexico. There is a dishonest employee working there in Banjercito.

I hope you reported this to Banjercito. They should be able tell which employee handled the transaction.

Safest way is Visa card.... a call or internet contact and you will not pay after "dispute" lodged.
If you do not catch charge right away (weeks) and it is an area you have not traveled.... they take the lost normally.
At least that has been my experience!

And an incident like that one.... good chance there were other thief's at that location and time period.
Hope it works out for your customer and "no cost" is charged.

See ya on down the road.

Same thing happened here in Louisiana. $300 worth of diapers and $1600 worth of cloths. Clerks should share in the loss.

For every fraudulent credit card transaction that is caused by employee theft there are millions that come from hacked credit card numbers. Actually it is almost a statistically certainty that at some time in the recent past your credit card and debit card numbers have been stolen and were available for purchase and use by bad guys.
These bad actors normally make small charges across thousands of cards, making the pursuit and prosecution of any one charge impossible.
The odds that the OPs case was actually an employee is very, very low. Any such activity would quickly be discovered and the employee arrested. Much more likely the card information was either hacked or stolen by someone looking over the OPs shoulder.
And yes, Credit Cards are the safest way to make any transaction. Debit card transactions are now generally guaranteed by your financial institution, but it isn't as clear cut as the protection a true Credit Card gives you. With a credit card, all you will be out, should your card be compromised, is time and effort to get it resolved. Once your cash is stolen, it is gone. And in the event you ever need to prove you actually paid for a purchase, a credit card transaction doesn't get ruined when you wash it like a receipt for cash does. For security, Credit Cards get two thumbs up with a double snap!