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There
are a variety of ways that thiefs can get your
information and use your cards to make purchases.
Here are a few of the more common ways:
You pay for dinner at the restaurant with your
credit card.
Your waitress takes the card to the register,
processes the transaction and returns it. What you
didn't see was the copy of your card details that
she made, and later used it to make purchases
online and by phone!
You can't believe your luck when you get a mailing
that says you've won a free trip and all you need
to do is join a travel club to get the free trip.
After providing your credit card details to join
the club, you never ge the free trip and you start
seeing charges on your statement that you didn't
make!
A thief finds copies or receipts of items
containing your credit card details in the trash
and then uses the information to make purchases.
Fraud like these examples cost cardholders and
credit lenders several hundred million dollars
every year. While you cannot prevent all fraud
from occurring, there are reasonable things that
you can do to help prevent and protect against
credit fraud.
When using your credit card to pay for dinner at a
restaurant, draw a line through all the lines
above your signature that do not contain money
amounts. So if you have left a cash tip on the
table for th server, draw a line through the tip
line on the receipt, or even write "left on table"
in the space to make sure that the server doesn't
add a tip in after you leave! Try to keep an eye
on the server when he or she takes the card to the
register, processes it and returns to your table.
When you get a new credit card, sign the back as
soon as you receive it. Carry
credit cards
in a different place from the rest of your cash,
and even someplace other than your wallet if
possible. Save all of your receipts so that you
can compare amounts to your actual
billing statements,
and open the bills when they come in and verify
that they are correct each month. Reconcile the
account in the same way you would a checking
account to make sure everything is correct.
When you are moving, notify your credit card
companies immediately with the new address so your
statements are not finding their way into someone
elses hands at the old address.
Don't ever write your account number on the
outside of an envelope, or on a postcard. Anyone
could notice it and write the information down.
When shopping online, make sure the websites that
you are shopping from are secure. They should have
an "SSL" certificate displayed, or at least have a
domain starting with "https", where the "s"
indicates it is a secure page and it's okay to
enter your card information.
If you must provide your credit card information
by phone, be sure the company you are giving the
information to is reputable.
Open your statements each month even if you know
you did not make a purchase. Make sure that there
are no purchases on the account that you didn't
make. If a purchase shows up on your
billing statement
that you are unsure of, call the company and find
out who it is, and what they sell and see if you
did make the charge and simply forgot. If you
still don't know who the company is, or know you
did not make a purchase- get on the phone and call
the card company as it is most likely a fraud
case.
If you still find yourself a victim of credit
fraud, you need to immediately call the credit
lender. Once reported, the law protects you
against any liability for unauthorized credit
charges, and you will only be liable for up to
$50, which is the maximum liability according to
federal law.
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