Card fraud abroad is mostly ordinary and mostly preventable. Two cards kept apart, a bank that knows you are traveling, a habit of not letting a card leave your sight, and a look at the statement every few days will handle almost all of it. The rest is knowing what to do in the twenty minutes after something goes wrong.
The short version
- Two cards, two places, on different networks.
- Notify your issuer before you travel, for every card.
- Use bank ATMs and check the slot and keypad before inserting anything.
- Do not let a card leave your sight in a restaurant or shop.
- Check the statement every few days, not at the end of the trip.
What You Need to Know
Three things go wrong with cards abroad, and they need different responses.
- The card is blocked by your own issuer’s fraud system. Annoying, common, and fixed with a phone call.
- The card details are stolen, by skimming at a machine or by a copy taken out of sight. Discovered on the statement rather than at the time.
- The card is lost or taken. Immediate, obvious, and the one people have a plan for.
The first is much more likely than the other two, which is worth knowing before you assume a declined transaction means something sinister.
Skimming
A device fitted over a card slot or keypad copies the card and the PIN. It is far more common on standalone machines in tourist areas than on ATMs inside bank branches, which is the practical reason to prefer the latter. Look at the slot, give it a gentle pull, and cover the keypad with your other hand while typing.
Out of sight
In many countries a card is taken away to be processed. Where a portable terminal is available, ask for it. This is not rudeness; it is the ordinary practice most of the world has adopted and it removes the opportunity entirely.
What to Do Before Your Trip
- Notify every issuer with countries and dates.
- Take two cards on different networks and store them separately, never in the same bag.
- Write down each issuer’s international telephone number on paper. The freephone number on the card will not work from abroad.
- Photograph the front and back of each card and store the images where you can reach them without your wallet.
- Turn on transaction alerts if your issuer offers them. It is the fastest way to notice fraud.
- Check your travel insurance for what it covers on card loss and theft.
- Read the safety and security guidance for your destination before you go.
Leading a group? One traveler with a blocked card on the first evening is a small problem; three of them at once, in a country where nobody has a working phone plan, is the group leader’s evening.
Explore group travel planningImportant Considerations
If a card is compromised
- Freeze it in the app if your issuer offers that, which is faster than a phone call and reversible.
- Call the international number and report it.
- Switch to the second card, which is why you brought it.
- Get a police report if it was stolen, which most insurers require.
- Watch the statement for further transactions and dispute anything you did not make.
Credit is safer than debit for spending
A fraudulent charge on a credit card is disputed while the issuer carries the balance. The same charge on a debit card removes your own money until it is returned, which abroad can mean being without funds for the rest of the trip. Use credit for purchases and keep the debit card for ATMs.
Public wireless networks
Avoid doing anything financial on an open network in a hotel lobby or café. If you must, use your phone’s own connection instead. This is ordinary advice everywhere and it matters more when you cannot easily reach your bank.
Read the destination’s safety guidance
The U.S. State Department publishes safety and security information for each destination, including where card fraud and ATM crime are known concerns, and the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes its own assessment. Reading one of them takes a few minutes and is more specific than any general advice, including this page.
Tips for Group Travelers
- Put "notify your bank" in the pre-departure note. It prevents the most common problem.
- Tell travelers to bring two cards and keep them apart.
- Point the group at bank ATMs rather than the machine outside the hotel.
- Ask people to carry their issuer’s international number on paper.
- Carry a modest contingency so a traveler with a frozen card is not stranded, agreed in advance as a loan.
- Know who to call locally if a card is stolen and a police report is needed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- One card, one wallet.
- Not notifying the issuer, then assuming a decline is fraud.
- Standalone ATMs in tourist areas.
- Letting a card be taken away when a portable terminal is available.
- Only the freephone number, which does not work from abroad.
- Checking the statement once, at the end of the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was my card declined abroad?
Most often because your issuer’s fraud system saw an unfamiliar country, which is why notifying them beforehand matters. Other ordinary causes are a daily limit, a machine that cannot read the chip, or a network that is not accepted locally. Call the international number on paper rather than assuming the worst, and use your second card meanwhile.
How do I spot a skimmer on an ATM?
Look at the card slot and keypad for anything that looks added, loose or a slightly different color, and give the slot a gentle pull. Cover the keypad with your other hand while typing the PIN, which defeats a hidden camera even if a reader is fitted. If anything looks wrong, walk to a different machine, preferably inside a bank.
What do I do if my card is stolen?
Freeze it in the app if you can, then call your issuer’s international number and report it. Switch to your second card. Get a police report, which most insurers require and which is easier to obtain on the day than later. Then watch the statement for further transactions.
Is it safe to use my card in shops and restaurants abroad?
Generally yes, in the ordinary course. Ask for a portable terminal where one is available so the card does not leave your sight, prefer a credit card to a debit card for purchases, and check your statement every few days rather than at the end of the trip. The destination’s own safety guidance will tell you if card fraud is a particular local concern.
Should I use hotel wifi for banking?
Preferably not. Use your phone’s own data connection for anything financial. This is standard advice everywhere and matters more abroad, where reaching your bank to fix a problem is slower and more expensive than it is at home.
Related Travel Tips
- Money, currency and payments, the section this guide belongs to.
- Using ATMs Abroad. Where skimming actually happens.
- Handling Money Internationally. Setting the cards up properly.
- Understanding Travel Advisories, for what the destination’s own assessment says.
Plan Your Trip With LABUSA Travel
A frozen card on the second evening of a trip is a small emergency that somebody has to solve, and it is easier with a travel partner who already knows the itinerary and can reach the hotel. That is a routine part of what happens after departure.
Talk with a LABUSA Travel advisor about a trip you are considering, or read about our group travel service if you are responsible for a party.
Verify Before You Travel
Card terms, dispute processes and liability limits are set by your own issuer; confirm them before you travel and carry the international telephone number on paper. Safety and security conditions, including where card fraud and ATM crime are known concerns, are published per destination by the U.S. Department of State and, for a second view, by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This page is general guidance, not financial or security advice.
Travel requirements, health guidance and safety conditions can change. Always confirm current requirements with the appropriate government or official authority before departure.