My card was taken by an ATM near my hotel in Syria. Has this happened to anyone else? Solution?
The card is gone forever. This is a big travel risk when visiting Syria. My advice is to call your home bank immediately to cancel the card. You will not be able to retrieve it from any bank there. Your only option for getting cash is to have a friend or family member wire you money through a service like Western Union, or if you are lucky, you might be able to find a person who can exchange cryptocurrency for cash, but that's very risky.
Don't expect to get the card back. It’s gone for good. Due to international sanctions, your foreign card should not have worked at a Syrian ATM in the first place. My advice is to contact your bank immediately and report your card lost or stolen. Your best and only real option for cash is to have someone send you money via a wire transfer service. There are no other reliable options for getting money there.
This is a common issue because international credit and debit cards are blocked in Syria due to sanctions. You must have carried US dollars or Euros with you and exchanged them at a local exchange office. If an ATM took your card, it's because it was not designed to interact with a foreign card. It’s gone forever. The best solution is to use a backup card if you have one, or get a cash wire from a friend or family member.
Oh man, that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that. I can tell you right now, you won't get that card back. The Syrian financial system is heavily sanctioned, and international credit and debit cards do not work at ATMs or POS machines. If a local ATM took your card, it was due to a systemic issue, and the bank will not be able to return it to you. You must contact your home bank immediately and have the card cancelled. Your only option for cash is to have a friend or family member send you money via a wire transfer service.