<\/p>\n
I remember the moment clearly. I was in the Nike store at the Orlando International Premium Outlets on the tail-end of a vacation that took us down the Eastern seaboard by car, stopping in cities like Doswell, VA; Charlotte, NC; and Jacksonville, FL. It was a simple sneaker purchase of under $100, but Chase Bank flagged it for fraud. I used an alternate card and immediately made a phone call to have my debit card unlocked, while my tween son wondered if I could afford his new sneakers.<\/p>\n
Read: Best credit Cards for your retirement goals<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s good that financial institutions look out for customers\u2019 best interests and flag potential fraud during travel, it can be annoying \u2013 and embarrassing — to make a call or reply to a text at the cash register during a transaction.<\/p>\n
\u00a0As snowbirds migrate north and retirees plan vacations, it\u2019s a good idea to know the red flags that could have your accounts temporarily shut down by your bank. Fortunately, a quick phone call or text typically solves the problem, but it\u2019s easier to avoid it in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese systems\u2026 are built to detect anomalies. If your behavior suddenly looks different from your established pattern, that is enough to trigger a review,\u201d Harrison Jordan, founder and managing lawyer of Substance Law, said in a press release.<\/p>\n
Fast travel<\/p>\n
If you move between cities or countries rapidly, the bank may flag your account. That\u2019s what happened to me in Orlando; we had been shopping in Tampa the day before. Your financial institution will check two things: Is the travel physically possible and does it fit your history?<\/p>\n
Because we\u2019d been spending days \u2013 not hours \u2013 in previous locations, the quick jump between two cities led to a red flag. Multiple bookings in a short time frame. If you\u2019re planning a multi-city trip, it makes sense to book your flights, car rentals, and hotels in one shot. But this can look suspicious to your bank. Criminals will often max out a stolen credit card on one website, and fraud systems are built to detect that pattern.<\/p>\n
Related: Social Security Cuts: How likely are they to happen?<\/p>\n
Using a different device or SIM card<\/p>\n
Many financial apps detect when you\u2019re logging in from a new device or location and require multi-factor authentication. Others may flag your account for fraud and shut it down temporarily.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour account is suddenly being accessed from an unrecognized device, with an unrecognized network, in an unrecognized location, which amounts to three anomalies at once,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cCombined, this creates a risk score that can cause an automated block.\u201d<\/p>\n
Logging in via a VPN<\/p>\n
Using a virtual private network (VPN) to log into accounts while you\u2019re on public Wi-Fi might seem like a tech-savvy way to protect your personal information on the road. But your financial service providers might view it a different way, Jordan warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSwitching VPN locations frequently, or connecting through a server in a country you are not physically in, can confuse the location data that risk systems rely on,\u201d he said. \u201cThe result is an account that appears to move between multiple countries simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frequent ATM withdrawals<\/p>\n
There are many reasons you may want to use cash on a vacation, from leaving tips to saving on credit card service charges if you\u2019re dining out frequently. But making multiple ATM withdrawals, especially in locations far from home, can trigger a fraud alert.<\/p>\n
\u201cSystems compare your current behavior to your baseline. If cash withdrawals have never been a regular habit, a sudden string of them stands out,\u201d Jordan explained.<\/p>\n
Frequent or back-to-back logins on multiple financial apps<\/p>\n
You might check your financial apps, including credit cards and bank accounts, more frequently on vacation. You might think you\u2019re following smart budgeting practices to keep tabs on your spending.<\/p>\n
But, Jordan said, \u201cRapid sequential logins across multiple financial services can resemble account takeover activity, where someone who has gained access to a device is quickly surveying what accounts are available.\u201d<\/p>\n
The behavior looks even more questionable if it\u2019s not coming from your typical location.<\/p>\n
In many cases, a phone call to your bank and credit card providers with a note that you\u2019ll be traveling \u2013 and the cities you expect to visit \u2013 can prevent your accounts from being blocked for fraud.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always smart to travel with more than one form of payment so you have a back-up if one account is blocked or, worse, if you lose your credit card on vacation. \u00a0Many providers allow you to turn a misplaced card off temporarily, but it\u2019s also smart to keep the phone numbers to report fraud or a lost card handy, just in case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This article produced for TheStreet by Nifty 50+<\/p>\n
#Travel #Red #Flags #Credit #Cards #Shut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I remember the moment clearly. I was in the Nike store at the Orlando International…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259],"tags":[10645,2535,831,1586,2612,21],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}