How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card fraud

How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card fraud

One day in Africa in 2008,R420-million worth of credit card fraud was committed in South Africa.

How may credit card fraud be committed?
There are a lot of methods to steal money from a credit card.

1. An executor can steal a credit card that is not theirs and shop, swipe and sign with no trouble.

2. When credit cards are sent by post, the letter containing the card can be scratched and stolen, although most financial institutions and banks persist that cardholders collect the card personally from a branch to fight this.
3. Card skimming has become a severe problem in South Africa. Small devices are used to swipe credit cards and read the data that is stored on the black magnetic strip along the back of the card when the possessor of the card is not looking. This allows fraudsters to make a ‘print’ of the card quickly.

4. The internet is where the bulk of serious credit card fraud happens. Not only can stolen credit card numbers be used to purchase goods online, there are internet scams which use fake web pages that look the same as internet banking log-in pages. These fake sites then record the credit card details that are typed in.

General aims for credit card fraud
Unluckily, credit card fraud can happen to anyone.

How to protect yourself from credit card fraud
Keeping informed about credit card fraud and what to look out for as a warning of unlawful activity is the best defense. Never let your card out of your sight. Don’t let anyone else use the card or give out card information to anyone.

The crippling effect of credit card fraud has forced banks and financial institutions to wisen-up. Credit cards are now being issued with a ‘chip and PIN’ which stores confidential information and cannot be used without a PIN selected by the cardholder. A card protection plan is a reasonable idea. For a small fee every month, a credit card can be protected from card fraud and if the cardholder does experience fraud, the protection plan will cover the repayment costs.

What can you do if you are the target of credit card fraud?
If you find out that money has been spent on your card which you can’t account for, contact your bank at once and ask for assistance. If your card is missing, cancel it with the relevant banking institution immediately. If the transactions on the card can be proved to be fraudulent, normally the bank will repay the money.
Credit card security is a matter of staying alert and informed as well as adopting sensible and secure behavior.