Avoiding Credit Card Scams
Thursday, January 5th, 2012Imagine the following situations:
- Somebody rummages through your rubbish to find dropped invoices and then uses your account numbers illegally.
- A shop keeper keeps a copy of your credit or debit card and then uses it to pay for other transactions.
- A mailing asks you to call a long distance number to make claims a free prize. You are told to provide your account number to sign up. You do so and are presented with a bill for transactions you never made.
Credit card fraud is a huge industry costing purchasers and card companies many millions of pounds every year. It's a form of burglary that is much more discrete than traditional theft. Although it is tough to totally prevent card crime from occurring, there are steps you can take to minimize your chances of turning into a victim.
Guard Against Crime
Here are some tips you can take to provide assistance in guarding yourself from card crime.
Do:
- Sign the back of your cards as quickly as they arrive.
Carry your cards separately from your wallet. - Keep your account numbers, expiry dates and company phone numbers and addresses in a safe place.
- Watch your card while it is out of your sight during a transaction and try to get it back swiftly.
- Destroy wrong invoices and all carbons.
- Compare receipts with your monthly billing statements.
- Open your debts and reconcile your account monthly.
- Report suspicious activity or charges rapidly and in writing to your card company.
- Tell your card company in advance of a change of address.
Don’t:
- Lend your card to anyone.
- Leave your cards or your bills scattered around where others might find them.
- Sign blank receipts. If there are blank spaces on a receipt, draw a line thru them.
- Write your account number on the exterior of an envelope or on a postcard.
- Give your account number over the telephone, unless you made a call to a company you have faith in. If you've got a question about a company , examine it with your local buyer protection office.
Report Losses and Fraud
If your card is robbed or lost, report this straight away to the issuer right away. Many firms have free emergency numbers specially for such calls. By law, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges after you've reported it. Calling quickly will cut back your liability for unauthorised charges, and will help the card company to catch the fraudster or block the transactions, making life tougher for the crooks.
Learn the steps I used to repair my credit.
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