Who’s looking over your shoulder? How you can avoid credit card fraud
There are many ways to help protect yourself against credit
card fraud, some are just common sense but others are less
well-known and can prove a real asset in keeping your
personal finance secure.
• Dispose of financial information carefully. One of the
most common methods of procuring information for fraudulent
purposes is to collect discarded credit card receipts. This
is usually combined with ‘skimming' - the process of taking
a card's details, usually with a device that looks like a
chip and pin machine. A fraudster using these methods would
have enough details to duplicate your card and use it
immediately.
• Check your statements regularly. Usually the duplicate
card is used within hours to make expensive purchases very
quickly. This makes the fraud easy to detect – but it may
only become apparent once a certain amount has been spent
or if you check your statement.
• As well as disposing of any paperwork bearing financial
information, always remember to shred all credit card
applications you receive – they can signal to others that
you are credit worthy and can make you a potential victim
of fraud if found in the rubbish.
• Always sign your credit cards as soon as you receive them
- an unsigned card has the potential to be used by anyone
whose signature matches the writing on the back of the card.
• When travelling abroad, always keep two different credit
cards in different places - it is a good idea to keep one
in the hotel safe and swap between the two cards during
your holiday. This means that in the event of loss or theft
you will not have lost all your spending power.
• If your card is lost or stolen, whether at home or
abroad, notify your credit card provider immediately. Once
you have informed them, you are no longer liable for any
purchases following your call that occur on your card. The
maximum payment you will have to pay is £50 – and if any
transactions occur over the telephone, or over the Internet
then you will not be liable for a penny.
• You can also sign up with a credit card cancellation
scheme to protect yourself. These schemes usually charge a
small annual fee and store all your card details (generally
credit cards and debit cards). If any of your cards get
stolen, they will handle the cancelling and re-ordering of
all your cards for you – it's a one stop shop rather than
trying to remember which cards you've got and contact
multiple providers.
Lastly it can never be stressed strongly enough: never give
out any of your account or credit card details over the
phone, email or Internet form unless you initiate the call
and you know the company is reputable. There are a
surprising number of scams out there that people fall for
everyday
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The new Natwest credit card gives you 0% on balance
transfers for 13 months. Visit
Y/CREDIT_CARDS for more details.
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