Gosh, a quick fix for such fraud has been around for years, though, apparently, not in the U.S. of A.
In Russia, for instance, most banks offer an SMS alert facility. If anything happens to my account, like I draw cash from an ATM, I receive a text message on my cell phone in five seconds. It's very reassuring. In case of fraudulent transactions, I'll be able to alert my bank straight away, as to minimize any potential losses.

"...Many New York City restaurants...don't take credit cards, so customers often must scurry to ATMs in order to cover their bills." (so sad; my heart goes out to these "poor" rich folks in New Yorkers) "...In March 2006, overseas travelers found they couldn't withdraw any money from ATMs in places like Canada or Russia." (better safe than robbed, especially in Russia; and is Canada no longer accepting US credit cards?)

if you don't like there policy you can always chane banks! I fail to see the problem

Seems like the banks could limit fraud without giving the customer grief. You need cash and whammo they take away your ability to pay bills. So you get on the phone and call customer service and waste 30 minutes to use your own money and the feds make you use direct deposit. Banks needs to keep customers a priority, but big money rules and makes them rules up as they go.

The banks all have advanced systems to spot trends and fraud, and they probably saved a few million dollars as well as many headaches for their customers by doing this.

With its current crisis, maybe Citibank wants to limit cash withdrawals.

I never use my citicard at an atm, don't remember the pin and don't see the need to. My bank issued me a card which I use if I have to.

Isnt it about time the banks instituted an additional factor in authentication at ATM's?...such as CARD + PIN + Fingerprint or Card + Fingerprint in lieu of PIN.

the ATM technology is just recently arriving in Nigerian banks. I hope they(banks) take a cue from the citi experience to curb such fraud particularly in a volatile and technologically insecure financial environment such as Nigeria.

"Many New York City restaurants, for example, don't take credit cards, so customers often must scurry to ATMs in order to cover their bills."... Just one more reason why I will never go back to NYC. Who carries cash in this day and age?!! I don't even have a wallet. Just my id and my debit card. Get with the 2000's NYC... cash is soon to be a thing of the past!!!

Instead of the banks addressing the problem by improving security measures on ATM cards (come on--a four digit numeric PIN?), they choose to limit their losses by penalizing consumers. Hey, banks--it's our money! Do you really want us making branch visits so you'll have to hire more tellers again? Do you really want to open your branch offices during the late night hours when many of us most want access to our cash? How about this one: let your customers decide what their daily limit will be, and require strong passwords and a thumbprint scan for all ATM transactions.

Leave it to Citibank to choose to inconvenience their customers rather than use some of their outrageous profits to improve security. Typical bank mentality!

There is a company in California called MAGTEK. They offer Magnaprint and Magensa as technoligy that virtually eliminates card skimming. In other words no other card can be used to access cash except the one that was issued by the financial institution. Why havn't the banks and CC companies been more proactive in preventing this type of crime ?

Some of us would also like to know why Citibank in the US have withdrawn the ability to make international transfers to Citibank accounts in other countries (the feature called Global Transfers) from their web site. Citibank customers in the UK can still make Global Transfers from the UK web site but Citibank US abrubtly suspended the service during 2007 with no explanation!

Anatoly,
Surely you don't expect them to use a system that
makes sense, that would be too easy !!!

It's always a hassle when you're on vacation and find your account has been shut down for fraud protection. It's a major hassle calling the bank and fixing the problem, plus you always wonder what has happened when you are refused a sale when you know you have the funds available. These banks are out of control. They're always scrimping to make a few extra dollars. I love the way they change your debits so you overdraw resulting in a $35 overdraw fee.

this seems like a good time to make a new resolution to stop visiting the ATM every time you have an urge to spend money and perhaps save it instead. What a novel idea!

Like the idea of the sms on my phone. wish they had that in Jamaica.

With all the fees and charges associated with banks these days you would think they would focus on the customer. Local Savings and Loans / Credit Unions are the only way to go! Tank the big Banks!!!

What? Some New York restaurants don't take credit cards? It this true? How come they don't? I've never visited there, would like to someday, but I don't want to have to carry around a bunch of cash.

Just goes to show, even though we are so advanced in technology our possions are less safe now than 30 years ago.

I get tired of hearing people say “if you don’t like it, change banks”. It’s not as easy as buying groceries at a different store. Your bank is so interwoven into you financial life that changing banks is a very big hassle. It’s hardly worth the effort. Then there are fewer banks to choose from each year, and they all are such copy cats. When all banks are doing the same thing, you can’t protest a policy you don’t like by changing banks. We need to let the banks know of our disapproval through consumer protection groups or our elected government.

Besides, I have changed banks and it did little good. My bank began to charge ATM fees so I changed banks. A few months later, my new bank was bought by my old bank. I had to switch banks again. By then, all banks (the copy cats) were charging ATM fees except from their own ATMs. No bank had ATM coverage near both my house and work. I picked the one near my house. Then 6 months ago I read an article about how bad Bank of America’s customer service is. I say to my wife, “good thing they are not our bank”. Now Bank of America has bought my bank. Looks like I have to turn my financial life upside down again.

This is a big lie. Just think about this before this new policy. The normal daily transaction is $200 miliion. Now the bank only lets go of $100 million. That's $100 million dollars each day getting interest for the bank so they can cover their losses in sub-prime mortgages.

Reminds me of highway robbery---horrendous late fee charges, interest rates from 7.9%=>39.2% for one late payment ever,check21 available only for businesses- not for having your paycheck funds available in 1 or 2 days etc.
Who's the thief?
However,banks should take heed from Anatoly in Russia. Sounds like a fine solution.

I don't get it. Does not taking credit cards mean they don't take debit cards in NYC resturants? Cash only? I'm suprised to hear the financial center of the US has issues with taking credit and debit cards. I was there in July, and didn't have a problem (however I wasn't eating at Dorsia by any means).

I think that having your feed back section is a great plus point to your journalistic articles, as a result you will be able to create better news stories in the future.

just the tip of the iceberg. how about people able to walk into walmart, scan a fake check with someone' bank and routing numbers, and debit their bank account. it's getting scary.

Those poor restaurateurs in New York. They have such tight margins of profit that they cannot even afford the credit card transaction fees.
Bull, they want cash transactions to hide the money from the taxman. No mercy. Take my card or lose my business. I will not carry cash in a city like New York.

My,my. The poor banks. Hey! The banks are making billions on ATM fees. Their real attitude is "what, me worry". Sensible cutomer caring organizations reinvest some of their profits and put these to good use in protecting customer welfare. If you think big banks are going to do this dream on.

Spend your money in America, it cuts out all these problems with international lack of acceptance of your dollar. Banks and pharmacutical companies should appear on the most wanted list of the FBI.

Spend your money in America, it cuts out all these problems with international lack of acceptance of your dollar. Banks and pharmacutical companies should appear on the most wanted list of the FBI.

I'm not sure this is really going to help cut ATM fraud. Six days before Christmas, someone accessed my account through an ATM in another state and completed cleaned out my account, leaving me no money for Christmas whatsoever! Compass Bank made me wait until January 2nd for a "provisional Credit" returning the stolen money to my account. So I had to deal with heartless jerks twice - the thief AND my bank!

I don't see a problem either. CitiBank offers a toll-free number to call if you need your daily limit raised temporarilly. It's not like you won't be able to pay your rent, or get little Johnny his big expensive train set. This is merely a minor inconvenience brought about by hood rats that have nothing better to do.

As someone who just received an e-mail from Citibank about this issue, and as someone whose card is affected, I applaud Citibank for taking this step pro-actively. I realize I am not liable for fraudulent use, but I would much rather not have it occue in the first place. Thanks Citbank.

Why not make it so people can keep their limits but have to sign an agreement that anything above the limit the bank wants to maintain will not be refunded by the bank if theft occurs.

SMS alerts are available!!! You need to click.. umm... My account settings... and add daily alerts for transactions for withdrawals and deposits. You set an amount you wish an alert to be sent to you. the service is free and you only pay for mobile phone company for the text message. Mine charges 10 cents per SMS.

As far as why most small convenient stores and mama-papa shops don't accept credit cards in NYC... it is very simple. They defraud the government each year by not reporting their true earnings. That's the truth behind cash payment. At least 80% of the restaurants don't report their true earnings. Even the daughter of an Italian restaurant owner who is now a real estate broker confesses to all of her employees that her dad defrauded the government... and her company as well by teaching her loyal real estate salespersons to do it. That's why you hand them "cash" as a deposit for applications versus a "check" or credit card. Additionally... there's a reason why other services like taxi cab drivers refuses GPS and credit card technology.

JUST THINK... THINK... AND THINK!

If Citibank wants to restrict access to your cash, just change banks! American banking institutions need to institute new methods to protect their customers from fraud. Restricting access to cash just isn't the way to do it. Bank of America is instituting some excellent fraud protection services.

"Many New York City restaurants, for example, don't take credit cards". Why is that? So they can run a cash only business and understate revenue to avoid taxes (both personal and company)? Sounds like the crime wave is the restaurant owners. Citibank is doing it's part as well - increasing the amount it receives in ATM transaction fees by forcing people to go to the ATM more often.

NY City restaurants do"nt take cerdit cards? why not?

Maybe I am missing the point-but why is limiting customers withdrawals a sulution to Fraud. Shouldn't the bank be doing something to make their services more secure. By limiting the amoumt withdrawn they have limited their liabilty! That does not make the bamk more secure for the customer.

Citibank offers SMS alerts as well as Bank of America. So you are alerted for any changes in your account (cash withdrawal, card purchase, overdraft, check postings etc.). Many restaurants in NY don't take credit cards, this is bogus, most of them do and if they don't you will know this ahead of time and you will be prepared. I don't see any issues with this limitation as well, at least they are protecting your account any way they could, however I would expect Citi to let their customers know about the changes as they happen.

What a fantastic idea this Russian bank had to send SMS to your mobile number if the cash is withdrawn. Why not? We have to fight all those bad people in this world, who want an easy ride.

SMS is not a secure communication medium. I also wonder how most people, with limited attention spans, will not get overwhelmed, and dismiss, these messages after a few days. Security is really pushed upon the banks. If they want to save money, IT/IS is their way...not pushing consumers will. If bank A said I could take $500/day and not have to worry |||| or Citi said $250/day and I had to look at my account all the time, what would I choose? People don't like working for their money. I am not paying a bank to hold it, I am letting them take a risk to give me a certain degree of return, including business costs. Simple and direct. If your bank does a poor job or costly job, go to the next guy. Let customers decide which bank is doing thier job...

I think ATM cards should have 2 different pin codes.
If you are being robbed at the ATM Machine use the pin code that tells the bank you are being robbed

Not everyone in NY is RICH!

they don,t take us credit cards anymore? and what is the limit they were reduced to on a daily basis?

Citibank has never been a consumer oriented bank. No surprise here.

Identity theft should be a CAPITAL crime. The FBI(domestic) / CIA(foreign) agencies should be going after these people.

I am a Citibank customer, and this just happened to me.It was a nightmare, but Citibank took care of the problem, the criminals withdraw more than 2500.00 from my accounts, I agree with limiting the daily amount, maybe this would not happen. At this point all my monies was credit back to the account, and all fees and penalties for delays in credit card payment was reverse. I suggest check your account online in the daily basis, I discover the problem the following day after I log in my online banking services.

You can have an SMS sent to you based on a number of parameters if you so choose. Unfortunately, most consumers are under-educated in how to protect themselves from potential fraud here in NYC and the USA at large.

(so sad; my heart goes out to these "poor" rich folks in New Yorkers)
Wow, you've obviously never been to NYC - no one said it was the fancy New York restaurants that you had to get cash for, it's often the "cheap" ones. Do you realize that there's a world outside of your own home? It's actually really a problem in NYC to not be able to get out more cash - lots of things require it. And many people would rather get cash out once in a week than have to go several times during the week to cover your weekly cash costs.
Sure, it's done for safety, but there's a certain amount of convenience that people come to expect from their bank. It's an annoyance that should be able to be avoided if banks are doing what they can to avoid the fraud issues in the first place.

Bank of America, at least here in St. Louis, Shuts off withdrawals at it's ATMs when the bank closes in inner-city areas (6p.m.). The bad part is the customer has to go to an outside-network ATM for cash, then gets hit with the foriegn ATM fees from the outside ATM Bank, and B.O.A. It's a scam. If your going to cut my access, at least waive the B.O.A Foriegn ATM fee! In this case, they are hurting the "rich" poor folks.
P.S. Nothing is more upsetting than getting a $30 overdraft caused by a $2.00 fee!

What are the chances of bringing biometric authentication schemes like fingerprint scanners into play? My laptop at work has this. And by the way, I live in NYC and I have only come accross one restaurant in 25 years that didn't accept credit cards and it's pizzaria that has a dining room. I can't imagine not having enough cash to cover a few slices.

In March 2006, overseas travelers found they couldn't withdraw any money from ATMs in places like Canada or Russia." What ocean seperates Canada from the United States????

I like their policy... You have to do something..Banks are taking the right steps...to curtail these fraudalent activities...This is not the perfect solution but something had to be done...

It would be nice if they notify ME, when they make changes like that. It happened to me while on vacation, there comment, oh well at least your money didn't get stolen.

OMG, "if you don't like there policy you can always chane (SIC) banks! I fail to see the problem." I fail to understand this comment...lol. It's their policy to limit losses that Citi has to cover. I am a customer of Citi and have not had a problem with them for over ten years. Good Job Citibank! I am one of the poor (rich) New Yorkers too!!!!!

How about a standard security protocol of resetting passwords/pins every 3 or 6 mos. It would be infinitely better than halving a customers access to their own money.

Another example of living in a 'microwave' society! I remember as a kid, I had a paper account passbook that I had to take into the bank if I wanted to withdraw any money. If the bank was closed(which it was EVERY evening, Saturday & Sunday)then I had no money. I would much rather know that I had access to SOME money than to have to deal with the headache of trying to get back ALL of it!

Or better yet, join a credit union!

Another case of US corporations not being upfront with customers. Yeah, they limit your withdrawls, but will they tell you, or will they even explain it to you if you ask? No. Its a shame, corporations can do so much with no recourse by consumers.

Since when is Canada overseas?

The dirty little secret is that it's an inside job! CITI got hacked and the bad guys have the numbers and pins. AND, CITI probably knows whose numbers got taken.

"if you don't like there policy you can always chane banks! I fail to see the problem
"

You know, if you would learn to spell correctly people might take you seriously.

For the uninformed and the sarcastic; many of the restaurants that don't take credit cards are the medium priced - lower priced restaurants. It's not an issue of the rich new yorkers who are being affected, but the average person trying to make it in a tough city.

Find the bad guys, send them to an island for 20 yrs, just like the French did. This one year probation stuff has got to go. The other comments are correct, we have the means to provide more tamper resistent CC's amd ATM's. I had my CC hijacked online and as I followed the web trail, the bad guys were threatening me with thier lawyers, amazing.

LOL i guess we should cut down on the amount of fraud we committ online.

Or maybe we can get some new binlists?
Citi bank customers suck anyway, never any money, i still like Chase and BOA =)

Citibank is running out of CASH, thats the real reason.

...plus, now that banks have seen the rush to withdrawl funds at Northern Rock in England, they have yet another tool to protect against a similiar rush here as they get closer to insolvency.

"if you don't like there policy you can always chane banks! I fail to see the problem"

First thing: If a bank the size of Citi does it, they will all do it eventually.

Second thing: People might actually take you seriously if you would learn to spell.

If people are upset to find their ATM limits reduced (for their own protection) imagine how upset they would be to find their account drained due to fraud. Welcome to today's world.

What a cruel thing to do to someone. Fraud of this nature could prevent the innocent victim from paying their rent, mortage, or just simply putting food on the table. I cannot imagine the evil mind of the people who cook up a way to commit these types of crimes. When they get caught I hope they pay a heavy price!

""poor" rich folks in New Yorkers"

Only an idiot would think everyone living in NY is rich!

The problem is customer service you idiot. Why should we have to change banks, when they should be doing what we want, not what they want. Dumb@$$es like the post before me are the reason customer service has gone to the crapper. That is the way big business thinks and the reason we stay on hold for 2 hours to get some person we can barely understand on the phone.

Inconvienance or possible fraud? Which would you rather deal with? Think about it befor you complain.

How about something simple (at least from a consumer's perspective) that will help in the situation where one is forcibly taken (sometimes by gunpoint) to an ATM to withdraw cash: Add "1" to your pin (ex. your pin is "1234", but enter "1235")to set off an automatic alert to local 911 as well as alerting the bank of fraud. This can maybe even trigger additional security cameras strategically placed around the premises to activate.The crook never knows any better because everything works as normal. Of course, this won't help if your card and pin are stolen, but it is a start.

If the fraud problem is bad enough to warrant this action by Citibank, are there additional risks that have not been disclosed?

Is an ATM card the same as a Debit card? I use my Debit Card all over Europe and the former Baltic Soviet States, (Estonia) with no problems (so far!)

WE need to stop all this nonsense. And deport freeloaders of society to siberia. End welfare. WORK OR LEAVE ! IMMIGRATION REFORM !!!!

My experience with Citi Bank would lead me to believe they are getting hit hard with a loss of consumer confidence. In my experience, Citi Bank did nothing to protect me from fraud and shifted the burden of cost off on to me in a case where a merchant defrauded its customers.
Also, these fraud events that Citi addresses by limiting or denying transactions hit consumers and businesses equally like an iron pole slamming into the side of your head. You never see it coming and they deny any such action took place. My gas card was limited by Citi and no prior warning to either the station or me was issued. Calling the Oil Company produced false and contradicting explanations of why the gas purchases were being limited. Also, they cut off my Master Card without warning during a typical outing with my daughter. Later, I found out that Citi cut off this card's access because the typical spending pattern that evening somehow became a suspected series of fraudulent purchases. No one bothered to get me face to face on the phone first, they just cut the card off and sent an automated message to my phone message service.
I have dumped all my Citi Bank cards and am in the process of eliminating all other connections to Citi Bank. It seems they will take your money, but they have no interest in providing convienient services without passing the burden of fraud against them onto their customers. It is the Citi Banks of the world that are pushing society back to using cash. That's what I do now, ALL CASH. It never gets declined!

I tried to get my bank, Washington Mutual, to talk to the hotel casino security manager in Las vegas, where someone used a cloned debit card with my Number on an atm there for $1000. The security manager wanted exact details, like what terminal number of the atm,,so they could check the security cameras feeds for that atm,,but Washington Mutual was too lazy, didnt care,,heck they just write these little thefts off. Meanwhile, my account is overdrawn for almost 2 weeks until they remove the fraudelant debit, and all the overdraft fees. thanks for nothing Washington Mutual

One of the big problems is people who will not get with the times and figure out how to use a computer. The ability now to logon to a bank's website and constantly be abreast in any activity occurring on your bank account is to me the best security measure you can have. But many people don't find out about fraudulent activity until they receive their paper statement in the mail. Not only does this create unnecessary waste, but by the time they know about it the crook has likely caused even more damage.

Folks, it's not hard to use Internet Exploder to access your bank's website a couple times per week to monitor your account activity.

"if you don't like there policy you can always chane banks! I fail to see the problem"

How about not having your money stolen? As inconvenient as these security measures may appear, have you considered the inconvenience of having thieves walk away with hundreds of dollars of your money? An SMS alert system is great, but only if you have a capable cell phone. Plus, you'd have to sign up for the service.

Citibank is taking measures to protect YOUR money. I would think you'd be grateful.

Another idea for security, is to implement the "reverse PIN": If your PIN wer 4598, and you enter 9854, the ATM could immediately send an alert to local authorities, take your picture and lock down that ATM. If your PIN were 3333, then you would choose an emergency PIN for the same purpose.

Thats great that they send you a text message in Russia however the fraud has already happened at that point. Its great for the cardholder but not so great for the financial institutions. Its sad that it has come to lowering limits like this but fraud is getting to be a scary business!

They need to offer a product, say created by the private sector, that has enhanced security features, such as retina image matching, finger print, dna matching embedded in the card, which can be verified at the device; they have cameras already. Then those that care about it can simply purchase the level of security they want to have and conduct business with like minded institutions. Right now I would bet you would be surprised how little that would change things though, since ripping off the poor is, was and always will be the primary goal of enterprise. Let someone or something else pick up the expense of the fraud, both contained in the product offered and the activities of those seeking to secure it......

Bob- alot of massive fraud in perpetrated in the OTC:BB by groups in the Cayman Islands. They fail to disclose their ownership behind the scenes then do a classic pump and dump. Beware ALL REVERSE MERGERS as SEC sanctioned "shell" companies are really fronts for boiler rooms and money laundering.

Citibank doesn't have money, they're writing off Billions!!!

In response to the individual who apparently believes all New Yorkers to be rich, that all Canadian businesses accept credit cards, and that Russia is apparently too corrupt a place to spend money - please refrain from making uneducated judgements in regards to people and places with which you clearly are not familiar. I work in NYC, as do many of my friends, and we most certainly do not fall into the "rich" category. Furthermore, the true issue I find regarding cash limits in Manhattan is the fact that many corporations require an employee to front cash at cash-only establishments for business meetings. While it may be quite absurd that many nice restaurants accept only cash and that many businesses would put this burden on their staff, it is a fact of life in this city. How lucky you must be to not face these issues, being that you are clearly not a New Yorker.

Credit card (CC) issuers charge a 2.5% ~ 7.5% discount rate for their use. That means that cash deals are less expensive. If a restaurant (R) accepts CCs, then the cost to the consumer is raised by about 3% across the board to cover the extra expense of doing business.

Sadly, the CC issuers have "fixed" us all by REQUIRING all client businesses to NOT GIVE A DISCOUNT FOR CASH TRANSACTIONS!

So, go to that high class R and pay a 3% premium above what your meal would have been for the opportunity to say "charge it!"

"For everything else, there's ...."

(Not for me, I'm quitting. ... Cash is king!)

I'm a technical consultant and work off and on in NYC regularly. I've never had a credit card not accpeted at a restaurant. Maybe a small cafe or convenience shop but never a restaurant.

Why would anyone do business with Citibank when it promotes doing business with our Nation's enemies such as the Hugo Chavez-nationalized Venezualian oil company, CITGO.

There are a lot of ridiculous comments being posted here.
The other day I was on the F train and overheard 3 guys talking about different ways they have tricked ATM's into giving them money. These were tricks they learned from friends spreading the idea.
These were not "free loading immigrants"
They were not Citi employees trying to cover their earnings losses from credit issues.
They were small time criminals that (like most criminals) do not even realize they're stealing right out of the pockets of decent people.
I appreciate any company willing to take steps to limit this activity

Consumers have to be more ALERT remember it's your money and financial institutions encounter challenges on a regular basis they only inform the public when they believe that is is necessary. Check your accounts frequently and get the daily alerts texted to you a few cents wont hurt but a few hundreds or thousands can definitely shake up your household.Be alert consumers PREVENTION is always better than a CURE don't wait until you are comprimised to take precautions take precautions beforehand.

Okay... first of all. Immigrants have nothing to do with this, please become educated, before making such a hurtful accusation! Immigrants are some of the hardest working people out there!!!
I am an immigrant, and I work for a bank! And I can tell you, the best way of protecting yourself is running your debit card as credit, so small businesses or Convenience stores don't have a chance of "Cloning" your card.
Second of all, you should be checking your balance daily, via Online banking. That is what it is there for!

I just love that everyone thinks that because a business will not take a credit card is so they can lie about what they make don't you realize that the banks charge anywhere from 6-10% from the merchants for the use of credit cards so they would have to charge the customer that much more for the so-call convenice. Wake up and realize that the banks are out for one thing- thier profits. use cash and you don't have that problem.

Consumers have to be more ALERT remember it's your money and financial institutions encounter challenges on a regular basis they only inform the public when they believe that is is necessary. Check your accounts frequently and get the daily alerts texted to you a few cents,clicks or a telephone call wont hurt but a few hundreds or thousands can definitely be a devastating situation to a household.Be alert consumers PREVENTION is always better than a CURE don't wait until you are comprimised to take precautions take precautions beforehand.

All of this is a growing concern. I was getting gas and saw the pump slow as I neared $50.00. It turns out it was my bank's doing - they had issued a cap at local gas stations. I really did not care, other than the fact I did not know about it. Actually, it made sense because if I had recently "found" a credit or debit card I might be tempted to fill up my tank. Wouldn't a lot of the problem be eliminated if you had to enter your PIN EVERY time you tried to use the card?!

Chase offers text or e-mail alerts for ATM use or preset amounts.

One wonders why Citibank doesn't have their ATM System do integrity checks on their accounts - for example, I use my card at one the ATMs at Penn Station to make a withdrawal, then walk across the lobby to another ATM and make another withdrawal. Something like that should shoot up red rockets in their system to eat that card at the second ATM.

As to NYC restaurants not taking credit cards - they don't want to be charged with the exorbitant fees the Banks charge for processing credit card transactions. It can be up to 10% of the transaction cost. So if Dinner cost $200, the restaurant will be out $20. That's a lot of money to lose for a restaurant - a LOT of money to lose.

ken

Why is it that New York restaurants do not take credit cards? As dangerous as New York is, it would be safer for their vistors.

The reason why a lot of places don't take credit cards is because the companies that do take them end up losing money if the card is found out after the fact to have been stolen. Thus, they have to eat the cost of the product that was sold and take a loss at the end of the fiscal year. They also have to pay a fee to the credit card company for every transaction that a person puts on their credit card at a business. However, regular department store cards without the visa/mastercard logos the companies don't have to pay the fees and therefore don't lose money on the sale. There are many stores that I've been to even in the small communities near me where I live and work that don't take credit or debit cards, and even worse yet don't take checks. It's because of the few people that have used stolen cards or checks have ruined it for everyone else. That's why I always make sure to keep a small amount (about $10-20)of cash on me all the time. Also, not everyone on welfare is a free loader, many are hard working people that through no fault of their own end up needing a little help to get back on their feet.

I live in a small town in the south and everyone takes a debit card...I rarely carry very much money.I can transfer money into my checking account from my savings ,anytime online.I also do online bill pay.I never have to depend on the snail mail to get the payment on time...most all my payments can be paid on the same day as they are due. No postage and I can keep my money until the due date with no worry of late payment fees. I really don't know why everyone doesn't do online bill pay....best of all, it's free.

I despise cash. I do not carry cash. I go weeks without it. Do I use a "credit card" yes. It comes straight out of my checking acocunt. Much more convenient than cash. No fees for taking it out of the bank, no waiting for change, no extra cash in my pocket that could be in my account. Citibank is not a good bank anyways.

What types of anti fraudulant mechanisms are other banks putting into place that seem effective besides SMS?

I haven't been a citibank customer for years as I have had nothing but problems with their 'security'. I was a victim of identity theft, and someone transferred a $10,000 balance to one of my Citibank cards. I called their security, and they said it was me who requested the transfer since I verbally stated my password to the customer service rep. My password was extremely cryptic, and theres no way anyone would have known it unless it was someone working for Citibank.

I went through a huge ordeal to get the balance transfer killed, visited many notaries, and once the whole thing was cleaned up, I dropped every Citibank card/account I had.

Much happier nowadays and I still have a chuckle everytime I see a Citibank commercial that boasts security of their accounts.

If you don't like Citibank's policies, change banks. Citibank has millions of customers...it's impossible that they are going to please every single one. You have a choice to stay with Citibank or go somewhere else. Citibank doesn't necessarily have to "please" you, if doing so is not in their best interest. For their own sake, they have to have policies which please their customer base as a whole.

Credit card companies charge fees to the business which is then passed on to the customer. Many businesses are now giving discouts for cash payment or refusing credit card purchases less that a certain amount. We should all ask for a cash discount.

anytime only cash is excepted is because things aren't being reported correctly, inessence you are contributing to yet a nothere criminal enterprize. you just get to eat your part.

Kudos to all the restaurants in NYC that are getting away without taking credit cards.

I'm at a loss as to how taking them would somehow record every transaction for tax purposes?? And that somehow doing this means it's to skirt the law? Perhaps it's just that everyone forgets that businesses must pay the credit card companies a percentage of the sale for the service they do. Not accepting the cards is more money in their pocket. Wouldn't you do the same if it meant and extra percent or two to the bottom line every year? Most of us already to by avoiding atm fees.

Sure, some will underreport earnings, but that will happen with those that accept credit cards too.

Doesn't anyone know how to spell CHANGE?

Every one should just switch to CREDIT UNIONS.

Some of you folks have a far-less-than-perfect understanding of how credit cards work for small businesses. If I, as a businessman, agree to accept credit cards, I must pay whatever banking institution/credit lender through whom I work to collect on credit-card receipts from my customers a monthly fee, plus a percentage of the charges processed each day/week/month. In addition, they will only stand good for a portion of credit card receipts, due to card fraud, chargebacks and other "issues" - they will instantly snatch money back out of my account in the case of a chargeback, without any notice and up to six months after the purchase was made. I choose not to make a bank/credit lender my "silent partner" in this way, and therefore not to accept credit cards - not in order to run a cash-only business as a means to defraud government.

Banks and other credit-lenders make money in both directions, not just one - who do you think pays more, a customer who spends several hundred dollars a week or a business that accepts thousands of dollars of credit-card charges a DAY?

"NY City restaurants do'tnt take cerdit cards? why not?"

many reasons.... some don't want to pay for merchant charges which can amount to 3-4% of the total charges

another reason, is many smaller/medium establishments don't want to report FULL Sales receipt. If they receive 100% credit charges there is no way to underreport their sales revenue. Too much evidence/paper trail. On the other hand, if they don't accept credit cards, they can report whatever they want.

The problem is that IRS/Dept of Revenue don't crack down on cheaters.

Once again, unable to get your own money from a bank. The banking monopoly continues in the US when only 6 banks will control all your accounts with no alternatives.

Small restaurants do not accept credit cards for one very large (to them) reason. It costs money (3 to 10%) per transaction to process the cards. This is money that the small restaurants can not afford to pay out, and still sell inexpensively to you. If they could reverse the fee to you, would you want to add that to your tab?

ATM's are pretty much a safe and secure way to withdraw money. However, I once got my penis stuck in one.

There are proven card authentication technologies like MagnePrint (www.magneprint.com) which can be used to identify a cloned or skimmed card and then deny that transaction in real time. MagnePrint readers can be installed into the ATM macahines and POS machines which can then stop this kind of fraud before it impacts the cardholder and before the banks lose more money due to skimming fraud.

Why is it that New York restaurants do not take credit cards? As dangerous as New York is, it would be safer for their vistors.

outside of larger cities, it is difficult to use US credit cards in Canada. Most only want local Canadian cards or even worse debit cards. On top of that, most US credit card companies charge you per 'foreign' transaction, which can add up.

It's nice to get cash out and use that, you get the better exchange rate (vs. turning US dollars) and you don't pay the extra fees.

As to the person commenting on the 'rich' people in NYC, it's not that at all. a lot of restaurants will not accept cards, from local delis to the high end joints. so those needing $10 bucks to pay for a soup and sandwich are impacted as much as the person paying $125 for a steak.

Fraud hits Merchants hard, too. If you report fraud to your credit card company, they REVERSE the transaction and the MERCHANT pays for the fraud, even with an "authorization" from the credit card company. Nothing the Merchant can do about it--part of the cost of doing business with credit cards. ATMs are the biggest exposure to fraud loss for BANKS/credit card companies: Lower the daily limit and the bank/credit card limits their fraud loss risk.

Also, there are many NYC bars/restaurants that have an ATM machine on the premises (and they are the ones collecting the $2 transaction fees). They don't take credit cards so people are forced to use the ATM's. You have no idea how much revenue that is for them.

all bank, credit and debit cards should have your picture on it, no chance for identity theft there and all clerks should ask for second means of id for large purchases. it would save money on both ends..no high intrest rates due to fraud for the consumer and lower insurance rates for the banks

Three weeks ago my Citi accounts were completely drained via a citibank ATM in Manhattan. Citi restored the funds, and I subsequently called and requested a much lower daily ATM limit (the crooks got around the limits by transferring money amongst accounts at the ATM and then withdrawing from different accounts). So I applaud citi's efforts, but believe there needs to be a higher security protocol for ATMs (how about enter your PIN and then have to input (via the ATM) the "answer" to some other question during ATM withdrawals, for example - input the ZIP code of where you were born, which you would not need to enter when making debit card purchases?).

Since I had my ATM card, a new one was obviously manufactured and imprinted with my PIN etc.

Watch out folks, it sucks to have a purchase "declined" and then get home, check your accounts, and realize that you only have $0.68 left!

What's an ATM?

While I pretty much hate banks, I think the consumers need to take some ownership of their lives. Having a daily limit lowered should not be a big deal. If I need lots of cash, I will walk in to a bank and get it. In the last 20 years I can only think of one time I needed to make a large ATM withdrawal.

Simple solution would be to use an eye scan or finger print scanner instead of pin codes.
many firms use this type of access and it would put a stop to mass pin theft. the technolgy is cheap and avalible.. pin codes as a first level security would seem to me to be totally out of step with what is avalible today.

Uhm, i feel kinda stupid asking this, but what's an ATM?

Maybe it is time for Citibank customers to consider joining their local Credit Union..."where people matter more than profit".

its funny how people think the banks are doing this in your best interest..they are thieves and always will be.
nobody cares about the consumer. least the banks.. now they get to make millions in interest on the money they don't release. when the banks fold.. see how much fdic is going to help you..fools

How about using good old checks to get cash? I don't have an ATM card and never have. I don't pay ATM fees, I don't pay extra fees for "out of network/area" ATM usage...I don't pay any fee for cashing a check at any bank or even at the grocery store. I don't have a monthly fee on my account. I pay for checks only. I never have to worry about ATM fraud or someone stealing/hacking my pin number. I go to the bank and cash a check every week or two as I need more cash. Seems pretty simple to me, but I guess that would require too much forethought for some people.

Just because the "technology" is there doesn't mean we have to use it. And the more one uses the electronic banking technology, the more one opens oneself up to fraud/theft.

Using credit cards at all is foolish. Cash is the way. Use cash and there are no penalties. No interest. No yearly fees. No fraud. I am 52 yrs old and never use credit cards. I have a great credit score, though I really don't pay attention to those either. No one will steal my identity. This message is to all the young folks out there. Stay away from credit cards. They are only going to cost you in the long run.

The banks are in no way trying to protect you, they are only protecting themselves. After calling two of my credit card companies to tell them I'd be traveling in Spain on certain dates, they still declined my purchases when I tried to purchase an airline ticket on-line in Spain. You certainly can't depend on them to be there for you any more in the case of an emergency.

I’ve been working with atm/debit/credit cards for ten years and have seen a lot of fraud detection programs come and go. They’re gone sometimes before they even get launched because the thieves are just as up-to-date in technology. So I agree that “investing more in enterprise fraud detection and stronger card security systems” would be a wonderful solution, but only if the thieves weren’t doing the same thing!

Two years ago I was in New Orleans for a meeting. One night we went out in the quarter and had a few drinks. Apparently, someone was "shoulder surfing" when I took money from my ATM (i.e. - they somehow saw my pen number). Shortly thereafter, they managed to relieve me of my billfold. In a matter of minutes, they went to every ATM machine in the French Quarter and took out my dailey limit ($1000).

My wife got a call immediately from Bank of America that someone had taken out $1000 and were trying for more and she called me. I assured her I hadn't taken out that money, but at that point realized I didn't have my card.

Bank of America said it would live up to it's commercials and reimburse the $1000. They didn't!!! They said they were not responsible when the PIN number had been jeopardized.

Bottom line is don't believe a word these banks say and make sure the person in line behind you can't see what you type in.

To avoid problems with my bank thinking my debit card is being fraudulently used, whenever I have to travel (sometimes on a rather quick basis) I call my bank's customer service number, and tell them where I am going, and, if known, who I will be doing business with, such as rental car companies, hotels, etc. It saves a lot of hassle, but can be time consuming. Also, my bank is one of few that offers a debit card with my photo on it, so that I don't have to write 'SEE ID' on the back of it. BTW, just to let everyone know, writing only SEE ID or not signing the credit card/debit card makes the card invalid. (Lok at the back of your card; it says, in big block letters, NOT VALID UNLESS SIGNED. However, sign the card, and then put, in block letters, SEE ID. That makes the card valid, and if the clerk dosen't ask for ID, he or she could be fired.) I work for a limousine company, and the company policy is that if the card is not signed, or just says SEE ID on the back, we cannot accept it as payment, and have to have another form of payment, as the card is not valid.

Who needs ATMS, I havenet used one n 3 years, carry what you need and have a credit card

People are slightly confused. CitiBank is not just a credit card company, they really are a bank. Many customers ( myself included) have a checking, savings ,etc account at a brach. I'm not impressed with the service. They ask too many questions and I really don't feel valued. I intend to switch this year. I live in Philadelphia (about 1.5 hours south of NYC) and I have never been to a resturant that does not accept credit cards, so I'm not sure what's up with NYC????

We were traveling back from OK in early Dec and could not make a purchase at two truck stops in AZ on our Wells Fargo atm card. I spoke to a person at the bank when we returned. They said it could have been blocked for possible fraud, etc. It is totally unacceptable to block access to individuals' money. I told the manager that if we hadn't had a credit card, we would have been at the mercy a church, etc. They couldn't have cared less.

Every week there is negative press regarding Citibank's unethical business practices. Time say no to Citibank by banking elsewhere. Whining will not chance Citibank’s unethical practices, losing accounts will.

Does anyone think that there is more ATM fraud in New York BECAUSE restaurants don't accept credit cards? Seems like the root of the problem (without further research) is muggings at ATM's or something similar, but basically caused by more people per capita using the ATM and exposing themselves to being victimized. The best solution may be to make these restaurants accept credit cards thereby reducing the need to use or visit ATM's at all!

Bottom line, people always want to complain. If the bank did nothing, people would complain. The bank is trying to be proactive, and people complain. Put things in perspective; is this really the end of the world? No. Eat at home, and pass up shopping for once, rich snobs.

Sacrifice convenience, just line up to the bank and show you ID, there is no limit.

Anyone think that this might make people go to the business' that take credit cards. while limiting cash outlay and increasing credit charges ...

All you gullible people, stop posting those dumb ATM "hints", like putting in your passcode backwards or adding a number to the end of your PIN - that stuff is a myth, and will not activate any cameras or notify police. Man, people are so egocentric now that actually believe that the police are sitting around, waiting for their passcode to be entered in backwards?

gee, is this the truth? who's actually the "criminal"? the atm marauders or the banks? it's extremely difficult for me to believe that better; more innovative answers to these "alleged" atm-fraud problems cannot be found; so as not to further stress the already harried "average" american person who is trying to be a decent citizen. the world of "banking" is already "mysterious" enough; with its' hidden/disappearing/re-appearing fees, transactions, mergers, etc.; to say the least. telling a customer that their amount of withdrawal limits will be cut in half because of supposed criminal atm activities sounds bogus. re-applying to re-instate a specified limit may prove to be an on-going event. like asking for deductions on credit card interest rates. after all, that money actually belongs to the people that went to work to make it.

GOOD! Just had $1000 cash stolen from me on x-mas eve in my citibank account. Quite a shock to return from a trip and see that kind of money missing..

Luckily I had credit cards as a backup..They should go further and create random security questions @ atms, like when you lose your password on a secured site..

gee, is this the truth? who's actually the "criminal"? the atm marauders or the banks? it's extremely difficult for me to believe that better; more innovative answers to these "alleged" atm-fraud problems cannot be found; so as not to further stress the already harried "average" american person who is trying to be a decent citizen. the world of "banking" is already "mysterious" enough; with its' hidden/disappearing/re-appearing fees, transactions, mergers, etc.; to say the least. telling a customer that their amount of withdrawal limits will be cut in half because of supposed criminal atm activities sounds bogus. re-applying to re-instate a specified limit may prove to be an on-going event. like asking for deductions on credit card interest rates. after all, that money actually belongs to the people that went to work to make it.

just got off the phone with citibank... they used to allow a daily withdrawal limit of $1000... but lowered it to $500. So what? oooo... how many idiotic rich people are there in this world who would withdrawal $1000 per day... that's $20,000 per month excluding non-business days.

oh... sms and email alerts are available. so don't be stupid! All of you need to read between the lines prior to writing a comment.

gee, is this the truth? who's actually the "criminal"? the atm marauders or the banks? it's extremely difficult for me to believe that better; more innovative answers to these "alleged" atm-fraud problems cannot be found; so as not to further stress the already harried "average" american person who is trying to be a decent citizen. the world of "banking" is already "mysterious" enough; with its' hidden/disappearing/re-appearing fees, transactions, mergers, etc.; to say the least. telling a customer that their amount of withdrawal limits will be cut in half because of supposed criminal atm activities sounds bogus. re-applying to re-instate a specified limit may prove to be an on-going event. like asking for deductions on credit card interest rates. after all, that money actually belongs to the people that went to work to make it.

Close your bank account and move to a Credit Union. A credit union will provide you with the member experience you deserve as a member-owner of a not-for-profit institution.

Hey, follow the money trail...Citibank is having some massive cash problems. This ATM fraud stuff has been going on for years. CitiBank is in the throes of financial crisis and needs all the cash it can hold on to. Thus lower withdrawal limits. Get wise...find a new bank.

To whoever said "They need to offer a product, say created by the private sector, that has enhanced security features, such as retina image matching, finger print, dna matching embedded in the card, which can be verified at the device; they have cameras already."

I have already created this technology with my ERFIDs (Enhanced RFID). The ERFID chip can be programmed with all of the above mentioned biometric data, as well as track the card if it gets stolen.

I live in NYC and I can tell you MOST restaurants take credit cards...I'm not sure where the writer is from, but I use my debit card nearly exclusively and have NO problems at all...maybe some of the mom and pop stores don't take them, but NYC is all but cashless today...

Why do NYC businesses want cash?. IRS

Cry babies - the whole lot of you.

No need to get bent out of shape because someone made
a typo. You better be worried about Citi Bank and hackers.

I went to a new doctor a few weeks ago and I handed the lady my insurance card she asked to see my drivers license/photo. I was glad she asked, it made me feel that if someone had my insurance card they
could not us it. This should always be the rule with
credit cards too.

The ATM fraud Citi is experiencing cannot be solved with them implementing a system that just could track trends. It is a problems that has been occurring all over the world for the last decade and only recently came to the US. It is very real global problem.

Crooks put small devices attached to the facia of the ATM that skims card data from the magnetic stipe and or positions a small video camera so they can steal the pin. One they have both, they duplcate your cards, go to other ATMs and withdraw your money.

The only way to stop this is to put new devices or card readers onto the ATM to provent this fraud. Internationally, banks all over the world have implemented solutions like this, plus have moved to smart or chip cards which make the mag strip obsolete. the customer data is now in the chip and that cannot be read by these skimming devices. both of these changes have been made outside of the US where the fraud problem was larger. It has rarely been done inside the US, as the fraud problem has historically been much less.

I think Citi is doing a good job of trying to keep customers from being ripped off. I am sure they are working on how to keep the fraud from being perpetrated. However, as a quick fix they need to limit the amount of cash exposed by every transaction. It is not the banks who are being jerks and trying to alienate customers. It is the stupid theives who spend their time figuring how to rip off poor working slobs instead of getting a job and working like the rest of us. Trust me. Having to call in and get your limit raised is way better than trying to figure out how to get your finances straightened back out after some one takes all your money out of your account. Yes, the bank will reimburse you if you report it promptly, but what a mess in the mean time, when checks start bouncing or you can't pay for your purchases because someone stole your monty.

Credit cards are like rock 'n' roll--here to stay. As for ATM theft, between skimmers, corrupt bank employees and the fact that most people don't check bank and credit card balances daily on-line, that will be easy money (when the big banks outsourced their customer service to Mumbai, including passwords and personal information on all their customers they figured a certain amount of theft would happen, but it was cheaper than paying American wages and benefits to Americans). Everyone posting here is obviously on-line, so set up the e-mail alerts, monitor balances, collect phone numbers, e-mail addresses, addresses of every bank's fraud department and lost of certified mailers, and stay awake.

Why would anyone want to rely on credit card cash withdrawals anyway? The APR is extremely high, and if you carry a balance on the card, the highest APRs are the last to get paid off by future payments.

My wife and I have been victims of the sudden "fraud control" measures by Citibank several times when we have been abroad. This is the most inconvenient measure there is. First of all, you look like an idiot trying to explain the store clerk what just happened, second, you have to jump hoops to find an ATM close to the store, because of course, you go into panic mode thinking that it will happen with other cards, and third, calling Citibank from other countries is not always a straight forward thing.

Being in the IT industry, it is amazing to think that I trust my money and my credit with certain institutions that cannot even take care of my information.

How amazing - a bank is doing SOMETHING to curb theft and people are upset? No wonder this industry could care less about its customers. It's damned if they do - damned if they don't.

I use my debit card. I have been told it is best not to use my credit card because it can be "cloned".

It is sad the world has come to this.

Before long we will have only one bank to use.

Not to difficult to fix. Send 2 different PINS with the card. One for limited transactions and one for no limit. Any of these Banking Tycoons think of this yet?

Look, Cash is not going away anytime soon. NY'ers don't have a lot of space to entertain, so they go out and the going out is great. Nothing like it in the world. Of course the restaurants hide their profits as all cash businesses do. NY'ers bring cash when out on the town, b/c it's more convenient when you are in a group. Separate checks is not only a nuisance to a harried server, but considered a faux pas and an attempt to be cheap. If one doesn't like it, eat at home.
Also, if you are unfamiliar with the buyback, then you will never know the value of cash.

The Worlds worst bank denies customers access to their own money, why does this not surprise me.

good job Citibank!!! outside of a drug dealer i don't know of anywhere that doesn't take debit or credit.

Carry Cash! say not to debit/credit cards and your card will not be "cloned" Avoid Credit cards! Avoid fees! Avoid credit card Debt and fees! Yes NYC is dangerous but there is crime everywhere. You can still be robbed of credit cards and they can be used just like cash... just dont carry hundreds of dollars on you at once. would you rather someone spend thousands of dollars on a CC or take 100 from you. Of course you would not like either! But we are trying to minimize loss here!

I've never had any of these problems with my Credit Union. :)

my cousin was recently a victim to fraud. she got gas in IL on her way to WI and soon after someone got a hold of her card # and PIN and wiped her acct clean with purchases in best buy, target and walmart. Her bank states she was the one who purchased these items when all 3 places were within 35 mins of the gas station, eventhough 2 of the transactions were within minutes of each other. I told her to fight this because the bank is not helping her out.

I'm confused, why is this a bad thing?

My credit union has always had a daily cap on ATM withdrawls. It's $300 per day, how much more cash do you need in your pocket? what are you buying?

Why can't Citibank notify their customers when a security measure such as altering access to a specific type of transaction? Duh?

This is utterly deplorable in the least that banking istitutions should penalize their customers instead of thoroughly seeking full prosecution of those whom commit such damaging and dastardly criminal acts upon those of us whom work hard to earn our financial rewards for our daily labor in the various sectors for which we are employed.
During the heyday of mass train and bank robberies of the old West in the United States the Railroads and Banks would employ the services of private detective agencies such as the Pinkerton Agency when law enforcement were either under numbered or just couldn't handle the case load. I would like to know why these institutions just will not hire a agency to conduct these services aimed more at today's society to track and bring to justice this criminal element?
I can understand having electronic security and individuals whom monitor these systems, but what about actually having field agents out in the streets and back alley's tracking these people? Why is it that if half these identity thefts occure in Nigeria, then why can't these people be placed in a reverse trap enwhich the arrest takes place in a European nation that is an active member of interpol? I understand that police and other law enforcement agents have limited powers but what are the restrictions on private sector investigation services whom are licenced to operate within the international sector? And how many of these individuals are White Collar criminals whom were granted security access to these accounts by the institution in the first place because they slipped through the cracks of the background check process?

For those who think its a good idea to add extra numbers to a pin to somehow call the police, and alert them your being robbed, dont you think a robber would know that scheme too? and when the atm fails to spit out money while you have a gun to your head I hope you feel you did the right thing before you get your head blown off, so you could save your precious money in your account.

' "Many New York City restaurants, for example, don't take credit cards, so customers often must scurry to ATMs in order to cover their bills."... Just one more reason why I will never go back to NYC. Who carries cash in this day and age?!! I don't even have a wallet. Just my id and my debit card. Get with the 2000's NYC... cash is soon to be a thing of the past!!!" '

I certainly HOPE casy isn't a thing of the past, when it is we will be nothing but pawns at the mercy of, banks governments and people with more knowledge and know how than either. I personally have NEITHER a bank account NOR any credit/debit cards. all these bank/creditcard 'scares' never affect me.

Sorry, but this business about "many" NYC restaurants not accepting credit cards is simply not true. There may be an occasional oddball here and there, but the overwhelming majority of restaurants, delis and fast food places in the city happily accept credit or debit cards. I honestly can't remember the last time I was unable to pay for something by credit card in Manhattan.

good job Citibank!!! outside of a drug dealer i don't know of anywhere that doesn't take debit or credit.

You must be on the other side of town. My dealer takes debit and even credit (via PayPal of course). Sadly, I do have to add a 3% "convenience charge" as he calls it, if I use virtual money.

This is just another way to force the populace away from the use of cash and to become solely dependent on the electronic form of currency, thereby giving the power brokers more dirct control over your monetary resources. If there ceases to be physical money then the concept of money being created out of thin air exsists, and if it can appear from thin air, then surely it could disappear in the same manner.

I don't even use my citibank credit card anymore, not to mention ATM... They refused my $2 grand car repair because they were afraid of Fraud -- that put me in a hard place, as you can imagine; luckily I had another card to fall back on --- and now that's the only one I use because it's the only one I can count on.

The problem here is too little, too late. My non-Citibank ATM account was hacked 2 years ago. The hacker used my name and information in a Citibank ATM. Fortunately I use online tools to track transactions, balances, etc. and caught this early on. I had to prove to my bank that I was in LA on the day in question - and did because of a legitimate purchase the same day. I contacted Citibank to see what might be done about this type of problem in the future. I got no response.

As for the folks who have been denied charges because Citibank is afraid of credit card fraud - we probably number in the hundreds of thousands. We were denied on our very first transaction ($600.00) because they didn't 'know our spending habits.' After several embarrasing calls we finally used another card. This happened again when I purchased a laptop computer. I actually called ahead to get approval and they still denied me at the cash register. At least that time the phone calls were fruitful.

Finally - the coupe de gras on this whole thing.. I paid that laptop off in one whole chunk. They charged us a late fee - we paid 2 weeks early! Their explanation? They didn't know our PAYMENT history so they held my check in processing until they 'were sure' it was legitimate. One call to my bank would have proven that.

Needless to say we dropped Citibank that very day. They refused to budge on the late fee that wasn't our problem.

Hello Bob,

You are still writing"ain't it awful" articles but you have nlt replied to my last Email: Swedish banks issue card customers with electronic card codes that change with each card use. What do you say ?

Tony