This was published 4 years ago
Travel scams: My credit card was skimmed Spain
By Alan Granville
It had been a pretty perfect break — sun, sea, sand and plenty of sangria in the heat of the Spanish summer. My partner and I just needed a getaway, and as we were living close to London Gatwick at the time, the world of European resorts was our oyster.
We picked cheap-and-cheerful Torremolinos on Spain's Costa del Sol. At the time the town had a bit of a reputation for some shady characters, but we honestly couldn't have had a better holiday.
About six weeks after our break, a bank statement was mailed to us with one sizeable foreboding deduction in the middle of it - a £2000 meal at a restaurant in Madrid. My first reaction was shock, as considering how cheap it is to eat in Spain, I thought "good going my son" (assuming gender here) for clocking up £2000 on my card. The second was "how the flippin' hell did this happen cause I had been nowhere near the Spanish capital?"
I got straight onto my bank and pleaded innocence. Luckily it was easy to prove. At pretty much the same time as "Spain's Most Expensive Meal Ever" (™) was happening, I was buying less salubrious drinks at my London local on the same card.
It had been skimmed at some stage in Torremolinos; sadly, I have no idea when or where it happened. It could have been at the local ATM, but none of the transactions I made stood out as being dodgy. Thankfully my bank was great to deal with, and the money added into my account within a week. The restaurant in Madrid had been contacted but alas no suspects were identified and the whole matter quietly went away.
To this day, I always keep an eye on my bank accounts after holiday trips.
See also: 10 common travel scams - and how to avoid them
See also: Even though I knew better, Spain's pickpockets still robbed me
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