With summer vacations driving more overseas travel, incidents of credit card theft and fraud have risen, prompting financial authorities to urge travelers to exercise extra caution when using cards abroad. Careful management of PINs and prompt monitoring of transactions are essential to avoid financial loss and potential denial of compensation.
When using ATMs in public places such as airports or train stations, users should shield the keypad with their hand while entering their PIN to prevent onlookers or hidden cameras from capturing the code. In the event of a card-related incident during offline transactions or ATM withdrawals, cardholders may be deemed responsible for inadequate security measures and thus find it difficult to claim compensation from their card issuers.
Authorities cite a case in which a traveler’s PIN was exposed at an overseas ATM while purchasing a transit ticket. The card was subsequently stolen, and KRW 4.5 million was withdrawn from another ATM. The cardholder was denied reimbursement because the unauthorized withdrawal appeared to involve a valid PIN entry.
Using ATMs in secluded locations or privately operated machines is particularly risky, as criminals often install skimming devices to capture magnetic stripe data or set up concealed cameras to record PIN entries. Street vendors and bars have also been known to take cards away from customers briefly for covert cloning. Travelers should insist on overseeing the entire payment process.
Real-time transaction alerts can help cardholders spot unauthorized activity immediately. Since overseas SIM cards may block incoming domestic text messages, travelers should switch to push notifications via their bank’s mobile app or messaging services like KakaoTalk before departure.
In cases of card loss or theft abroad, travelers must report the incident to local police and obtain an official incident report to submit to their card issuer. Without confirmation from law enforcement, financial institutions may have difficulty distinguishing between legitimate and fraudulent transactions, hampering reimbursement efforts.
Lending credit cards to family members or spouses is prohibited under current law, and any claims arising from misuse or loss in such situations are unlikely to be honored. Instead, travelers should apply for an authorized supplementary card in the family member’s name.
To prevent unauthorized overseas transactions, cardholders can activate domestic payment blocks and overseas-use safety settings. Enrolling in a service that shares entry and exit information with card issuers can also help banks detect suspicious foreign transactions more effectively.
After using an ATM or unmanned point-of-sale terminal, travelers should always retrieve their card immediately. If multiple credit cards from different issuers are lost at once, a single notification to one card issuer via the “unified loss report service” will alert all participating banks simultaneously, streamlining the reporting process and helping to secure compensation.