How Credit Card Frauds are done and How to secure yourself

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This is my second article on How online frauds happen and how can you prevent them. You can read the first article about eBay Frauds and How can you prevent yourself too for better knowledge.

Credit Card fraud has become a huge profitable business for criminals and a major problem for innocent consumers. You need too stay alert or it could cost you a lot of money and hours of personal time to repair you credit profile.
There are a number of tricks thieves use to compromise you credit card and personal information.

Many of the tricks are very simplistic while others require high technical skills. One of the simpler techniques is garbage or dumpster diving. Many people throw out sensitive information without shredding or destroying the papers beyond recognition. Crooks can obtain such valuable information as credit card numbers (from statements or copies of credit slips), date of birth and social security numbers.

Criminals will also try to steal your mail for a few different purposes. They might be able to intercept your new credit cards and run up large purchase before you are even aware the cards are missing. Another important piece of mails thieves look for is convenience checks. They can deposit these checks, and often withdraw the cash, again before you even realize anything is missing.

Other important information which can be stolen from your mailbox to aid dishonest people in credit card fraud is statements and payment envelopes. Both of these envelopes will contain account numbers and other important account information.

Phishing is a new attempt at fraud due to the popularity of the internet. The scam involves setting up a website which looks exactly like a major credit card company. The scammers send out millions of e-mails directing you to “their” site. When you enter your id and password, the site will record your information and will then be able to access your “real” account.

The last, but most devastating fraud which impacts credit cards is identity theft. If crooks are able to obtain key information about you and your spouse such as social security numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers and home address, an imposter could set up credit card accounts in your name, They would use a change of address form to have the account statement mailed to a different address and keep you from receiving any information that the account exists. A thief could slowly run up the balances greatly reducing any suspicions.

With a few simple techniques, you can greatly reduce falling into a credit card fraud situation. Check your credit card transactions at least once a week to quickly identify unauthorized transactions. If you get an e-mail stating problems with your account, NEVER use the link from the e-mail. Either go directly from your “favorites” or do a search for the company to access their website.

If you suspect any fraud on your credit card, immediately report the circumstances to your credit card company. If you lose or misplace your card, contact your credit card company immediately. Do not trust anyone else to report your lost or stolen card. You will also minimize your liability for unauthorized purchases if you report your card lost or stolen quickly. For a monthly fee (usually $5 – $10 per month), you can subscribe to one of the credit bureaus watch programs where you will receive daily or weekly reports of key file changes.

It’s very important to be careful when shopping both on-line and in brick and motor stores. You need to safeguard your credit card number while making on-line purchases. Some credit card companies will provide a virtual account number which you can use for a single on-line purchase without risking your ‘real” credit card number. When purchasing, stick to sellers you know or are recommended by family or friends. Only purchase from secure sites which display a padlock or key. Never give you PIN when making an on-line purchase.

If you are a victim of Credit Card fraud there a few key things you need to do right away. Contact the fraud department of your credit card company and have them immediately close the account and re-issue a new account number. Change your password and pin Also contact the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax - (888)-766-0008 or http://www.equifax.com/
TransUnion - 800-680-7289 or http://www.transunion.com/
Experian - 888 397 3742 or http://www.experian.com/

The last step is to contact the legal authorities. You need to file a report with your local police. The federal agency to contact is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can call them at 877-FTC-HELP or download their ID theft complaint form at
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03.

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