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Comment by lkxijlewlf | Hacker News Reader

I had a CC lock my account once when I went on a trip to several places in a quick amount of time. I called them and worked it out. Their algos thought it was someone had stolen my card.

Now, before I go on vacation or make a large purchase, I call them and tell them what I'm going to do. I've never had a problem since doing that and it's a very quick call, actually.

I wonder if anyone has tried same with PayPal.

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These "unusual activity" detecting algos are a menace. If I use a VPN to access my account, blocked.

Had this issue with Paypal & Digitalocean. Reddit shadowbans accounts made with VPN.

At least the 'unusual activity' should block the transaction not ban the account and you get notified on the spot.

I mean that's fair enough because that (payment methods being stolen) happens frequently enough, but it should be just as easy to clear it up again.

Over here, banks have set things up so that by default you can't get money from foreign ATMs - you have to activate that first. Because lots of people got their bank card stolen and PIN code skimmed, only for the card to pop up again in eastern Europe or wherever to drain the account.

I have had a situation where I called my bank to let them know I was traveling overseas so this wouldn't happen, and it still happened. It's utterly ridiculous.

I used to travel a bunch and never informed anyone. Then one year I decided to inform my cc. That was the first time my cc was blocked because it unusual activity.

With my bank I explicitly have to announce in advance if I am going to use my card abroad and can enter specific dates and times online. It's quite easy to do. You can also call if you forgot but then you will have to go online and add days if you want to use it for more than one/a few if I recall correctly.

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