As long as you’re using credit cards to pay for purchases and services, you always carry a certain degree of risk of credit card fraud. A thief can easily steal your wallet or spy on you online in order to obtain your credit card information and use it to make purchases in your name. You will end up paying for these unauthorized transactions. As thieves continue to rack up charges on your account, your credit will be damaged in no time. It’s unpreventable and there’s no total protection against it, yet you can always increase your level of defense from credit card fraud by getting educated. How does credit card fraud usually occur? There are different ways for thieves to obtain your credit card information. They can dig out old credit card statements from garbage bins or steal pre-approved credit card offers from mailboxes. They can breach into an online merchant’s database to steal the credit card details of its clients. They can attach a small, high-tech device on self-serve gas pumps or ATMs to record the credit card details of their victims. They can use fake emails to lure clients into visiting fake websites, where their credit card details will be copied. The simplest of all - they can just pretend to be a representative from a financial institution and trick their victims into giving their credit card information over the phone. Credit card fraud – how to fight it? Incorporating safety practices into our day to day activities is the best defense against fraud. Here are some of the basic preventative measures to fight off credit card fraud. - Monitor credit card statements closely – Always check your credit card statements regularly so that you’ll know when something’s not right. Items such as unauthorized purchases are the most obvious warning sign of fraud and you should report it right away to your credit card provider. Be keen in checking your statements and make sure all of the purchases are yours and no one else’s.
- Check credit reports – by checking your credit reports every year, you are not only preventing credit card scams, but also identity theft in general. This is basically a simple form of credit monitoring. You can request one credit report from each of the three credit reporting companies every four months, by ordering directly from the agencies or online at www.annualcreditreports.com. Inspect your report closely for any credit lines you didn’t open or unusual credit card charges. If, in case, you spot one, immediately report the delinquent entry to the credit reporting company that issued your report.
- Shred documents – because thieves are known to recycle trash from your garbage bins, it’s necessary to shred important documents that contain credit card information. This will prevent thieves from stealing your credit card details, which are then used for “card-less” transactions online or over the phone.
You’re a victim, what should you do?The only way to stop thieves from maxing out your credit is reporting the case immediately. Doing so will limit your liabilities against fraudulent charges. By law, you are no longer liable for the fraudulent damages as soon as you report lost/stolen credit cards or credit card fraud right away. As soon as you spot unauthorized charges on your account, call your credit card provider’s 24-hour hotline. You should also provide a written log - record the fraud you noticed and the steps you took, such as the name of the representative you spoke to and the date of the conversation. You should also contact the credit reporting companies and request for a fraud alert to be placed on your credit records. Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. She also covers topics what an enhanced id theft protection should have and the importance of checking your credit score.
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