It's not an urban myth. I've encountered it. Personally, we were victims of identity theft a number of years ago. In dealing with this nightmare we were told how unusual activity on a credit card will result in the account being red-flagged and frozen. In order that this never happens to us we always contact our various credit accounts and inform them of our travel plans. They make a note on our account information and we have no problem.

However, while traveling with a group in Mexico one of the members was having trouble accessing his funds through ATM machines. His account had been frozen because the activity was suspicious. It took a couple of days to straighten the whole mess out.

When it happens this is a major inconvenience. But a simple phone call prior to traveling can help one to avoid any problems.

John in San Diego