February 5, 2023
  •  
2 MINUTES

How HSBC, Airbnb platform , and PayPal protected me against a credit card scam

To many, the term good fortune is associated with a windfall, or a pay raise. In essence, it is usually linked to coming into money. However, good fortune can also be in the form of good health, lack of financial problems, and also, as I found out, evading scams, specifically credit card scams.

The story started when I was researching for things to do while I accompanied my husband  on his trip to Norway. A photography fan, I wrote to several tour companies asking them about photography tours . One replied to say they could organize it for me. Although their minimum number was 2, he was willing to take me alone. We agreed, and I asked for the method of payment.

The representative from the company claimed to be the owner, and eventually gave me the link to pay his fees. Unfortunately,( or should I say fortunately ), the amount was wrong, and I e mailed him again . This happened a few times, until he finally rectified it. The payment was to be made through Airbnb.

My first attempt was using my credit card on the website. It was unsuccessful . The message that popped up said there was a server error. I tried again using PayPal, but received the same message. Shortly after, I received a message from my credit card provider, HSBC, saying that my card had been temporarily blocked. I called the given number, and was told that my card may have been compromised. I explained the transaction to them, fully believing that it was genuine, but then I was asked if I had made a transaction of 0 Yen to blizzard entertainment. I had not. With that info, they confirmed that my card had indeed been compromised and proceeded to cancel my card. I pleaded with them as I was in a foreign land , but they patiently explained the risk of unblocking the card. Thankfully, I had other credit cards.

I am indebted to the Airbnb platform, as well as HSBC for thwarting a scam. Without their vigilance, I could have lost quite a sizeable amount of money through fraudulent transactions It also left me paranoid for the rest of my stay as this happened despite me using my phone's internet and not that of the hotel.

beautiful fjords of Norway.

This experience has taught me to be more wary and not be too trusting. It has also taught me to be grateful for small mercies .

Do I know for sure that I was scammed ? No. I am only guessing that it was a scam. I clicked on the given link again and was met with a totally different image, offering something similar. I am not well versed enough about the internet and scams to know exactly what happened, but my guess it the authentic website was hijacked.

Written by
Yong Junina Fadzil
Yong Junina
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