SAFETY - Credit Card Fraud
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What is Credit Card Fraud?
Card fraud happens when someone charges goods and services to your credit card, debit card or bank account. In the home security section we mentioned that a lot of criminals are opportunists and some card offences are committed by that type of offender. If you have your card and PIN in your wallet, and you lose it, then an opportunist can simply go to a cash machine and withdraw your daily allowance of cash, or use it in any chip and PIN machine to buy whatever they want. If they use in shops, they can simply carry on spending your money until you realise your card has gone and the Bank blocks or cancels it, or you run out of money.
That said, in general, card fraudsters are highly skilled and many of the offences, especially the ones involving the internet are well planned and expertly executed. It's a massive crime all over the world now, and few of us will be lucky enough not to know someone who has been a victim of card fraud.
Some simple tips can really help though, and a visit to several internet sites showed the advice below to be the most popular.
Always check your statements
If your balance isn't what you think it should be, and most of us have a fairly good idea how much (or little) money we should have in our accounts, then really scrutinise each transaction. Look for cash point withdrawals, card transactions, and check the locations. If £50 left your account from a hole in the wall machine in a location you haven't been too, then there is a fair chance you have been scammed. Often the criminals will take several small amounts from your account as one large amount would stand out, so check the transactions for £20 as thoroughly as the ones for considerably more.
Most card companies run computer software which checks for transactions which are out of your normal spending patterns, which is one reason they like to have your telephone number, so they can call you to check unusual spending. One of the BEST Advice team’s friends was at work in Stevenage when her company called to enquire if she or her husband was in Australia as several transactions had just taken several hundred pounds from her card account in shops in Sydney. Her card had been copied and the details sold on to criminals abroad.
If you do see spending that wasn't you, then call the card company or your bank if it's a bank debit card. They will stop the card immediately. Similarly if you lose your card, cancel it right away.
NEVER tell anyone your PIN number
If you do have bogus transactions this is the first question you will be asked. Never write the number on the card or even keep it on a scrap of paper in your wallet. If that's where you keep the card and your wallet gets stolen or lost, the thief has all that is needed to clear money from your account. Change your PIN to one you can easily remember without writing it down. As PINs are usually four digits you can use a year which has particular significance, even the score of a football game you enjoyed. So long as you can remember it, you won't have need to write it down.
Be warned, many companies won't refund stolen money if they find you have divulged your PIN or password or didn't report the matter promptly, so if you become suspicious, tell them right away. All statements have the 24 hour contact number of the company on them, and it is also often on the reverse of the card itself. If you can't find your statement then go on to the issuing company's web site and the procedure and contact numbers will be shown there.
Be vigilant when you use your card
It takes approx two seconds to clone your card. Cloning is making a copy of the information on the magnetic data strip. It's that quick and that simple. Be watchful when someone has their hands on your card, think of it as though they had their hands on your money. All the person has to do is swipe the card through a second card reader.
When putting in your PIN shield the keypad with your free hand to prevent the number being seen. Never use a cash point that shows signs of being tampered with, and if the card is "swallowed" by the machine for no reason phone the Bank and let them know. It could simply be a malfunctioning machine, or it could be that it has been tampered with. Be suspicious and tell the Bank.
(A useful tip from BEST Advice: you can now use your Bank debit card in the cash machines of most other Banks. If you are using a machine at your own branch and it does go wrong, you can just walk in and in five minutes the staff will have opened the machine and reunited you with your plastic. If, however, you are using a machine at another bank, say you are a Nat West customer using a Lloyd’s cash point, then the card is automatically and immediately voided and you won't get it back. You will have to order a new card from your own Bank and wait the five days till it arrives.)
Watch the Carbon copies
When technology fails, as it sometimes does, retailers can still use the old fashioned 'swipe' machine and paper receipt. By swipe we don't mean the modern device where the card is swiped through an electronic sensor that reads the magnetic data strip, but the really old way where the card is placed in mechanical device and a carbonised receipt is placed on top. A heavy pressured roller then goes over the card and the raised information on the front is transferred on the Pages of the receipt. The retailer keeps one and you get the second. But what about the carbons? They have all your credit card information on them, and often simply end up in the rubbish. Ask for them and take them away for safe disposal, i.e. shred them.
Never divulge any information over the telephone
If you receive a telephone call purporting to come from your Bank or Credit Card Company and they ask for your account details, passwords or PINs - don't give them. These companies will not ask for such information. Hang up and call your card company or Bank on their emergency number (it's on the back of your card) and tell them what has happened.
Documents
Always be careful with Bank and credit card receipts and statements. Don't throw them out with the recycling. Shred them. Criminals do look in rubbish and recycling to find information such as this, so don't give them the opportunity to find your details.
Computer Viruses
If you keep card details or other personal information relating to your finances on your computer, then ensure you have a good anti-virus programme installed and keep it up to date. Always ensure your computer firewall is active as well.
Malware and Spyware are programmes store information about sites you have visited and sometimes include programmes which try to seek out personal information. Some viruses also target your stored financial information, so scan your computer regularly, at least once a week. Most anti-virus software can be programmed to do this automatically.
Online Security
With on line shopping becoming more and more popular many of us now send our card details into cyberspace without too much concern. In general it is fairly safe as a lot of on line companies use encrypted servers to take these details so no one can access them easily. Look for secure or encrypted sites such as Pay Pal or sites that show a padlock logo.
Another way criminals get your information is simply by convincing you that you are dealing with a legitimate company, like a Bank. An e-mail you receive seeming to come from your Bank redirects you via a so called secure link to a site which asks for financial information. Never use such links and always visit sites for online banking by typing the address directly into the address line of your browser. These scams are very well planned and look extremely convincing, and therefore they are very easy to fall for, but a quick call to your Bank or card company will often reveal them to be fake, so always check first.
If your anti-virus programme has a Phishing filter, make sure it is on and keep it on to help protect you against on-line fraud.
Other sources of information
For more help and advice try looking at the web page of your Bank or credit card issuer. The following sites will also help: