Credit Card Fraud Rife
Preventing credit card fraud is essential otherwise your finances could be in a mess. Where there are credit cards there will be those who would seek to steal them. It is a fact of life that every year in the UK millions of pounds is lost to card fraud. This is despite initiatives by the banking industry which have helped to some extent in cutting losses. Fraud losses on UK credit and debit cards were £365.4 million in 2010 – a 17 per cent reduction compared with losses in 2009. Online banking fraud losses saw a 22 per cent fall on the 2009 figure. This clearly is good news for the industry, and for credit card users in general. Having said that phone banking fraud losses totalled £12.7 million during 2010, an increase of five per cent from 2009.
The UK government in October 2011 reported that cybercrime is still a big problem, with more than 150 websites offering illegally obtained information.
Many of these sites offer for sale details belonging to between 20,000 and 100,000 people worldwide at any one time – charging as little as 70p.
Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud
According to CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention service, identity theft overall continues to rise year on year, so the problem is getting more acute. Very pertinent is their observation that “The changes in the types of fraudulent activity witnessed in the past two years demonstrate that fraud does not disappear – it simply adapts.”
Credit Card Fraud When Buying Online
If you buy anything online you need to be as secure as possible. Your card information may contain a lot of details about you, which fraudsters would just love to have. Vigilance is one of the best ways of preventing credit card fraud.
Make sure you use the services of a website that offers guarantees against identity theft. These sites use a “secure page” for card processing, and their website address for the secure pages will begin https: And, you should always make sure your computer is clear of viruses and spyware, otherwise you face the risk of a trojan virus stealing your personal details. If possible never use anyone else’s computer to order online, not unless you are 100% confident their computer is clean from viruses and spyware.
Of course sometimes however secure a site is, there are times when there is nothing you can do about it. Take, for example, the situation with the Sony PlayStation Network in April 2011, when it was revealed millions of Sony’s customers had their account details stolen. This included names and addresses, and it’s thought bank account details too. Sony’s shares went down immediately after this security lapse, and it’s thought they will have to pay out $millions in compensation.
Preventing credit card fraud comes down to some simple basics. If you are using your credit or debit card for offline purchases don’t keep your card and pin number together, especially now we have chip and pin, rather than signatures. And talking about cards, if you don’t use them all then it is better for safety reasons to close those accounts. And, closing them helps your scoring at the credit reference agencies as you no longer have x amount of credit instantly available to you.
Other Tips to Safeguard your Online Security
Be on guard against what are known as ‘phishing sites’ which is where emails are sent out hoping to get individuals to visit a fake, but often convincing, website in the hope of getting hold of personal information, including account passwords. Unless you are positive the email was sent by the genuine organisation you should never click on any links in the email. Just visit the site in the normal way.
And, don’t publicly show your your address, phone numbers, emails, date of birth, place of birth, passport or driving licence numbers anywhere. This includes on social networking sites in conversations with others.
If You’ve Been the Victim of Credit Card Fraud
Despite your best efforts, at some time you may fall victim to some type of credit card fraud. A Norton survey has reported that victims of cyber crime worldwide lost an estimated £71 billion in total over the last year, according to Norton’s Cybercrime Report 2011. On average in the UK, cyber crime is costing victims £474 million a year.
If someone else has got hold of your personal details they can ruin your credit. This is where you have to undo the damage caused to you.
You could be the victim of scammers getting hold of your details and opening a credit card account in your name. They then run up huge debts in your name. If that happens, and you will only ever find out after the event, you will need to prove that you have never lived at the address which the scammer provided and the debts are not yours. Doing so can be very time-consuming, but in order to rebuild your credit reputation it is something you just have to do.
Urgent Steps to Take If Your Card Used Fraudulently
Obviously the first people to inform if you think your card has been used by someone else is your bank, credit card provider, and the police. If credit cards have been issued fraudulently in your name you will also need to contact the three credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax, and Callcredit to inform them about the credit card fraud. Some say that you only need to contact one of these and they will pass on your report to the others, but I would make sure by contacting all three. You can do it online, and request them to place fraud alerts on all your credit reports. A fraud alert will be an obstruction to anyone who attempts to use your information to establish a new line of credit.
Be alert at all times with your cards. Cover the pin number when using your card at a retailers, restaurant, or when withdrawing cash from a service till. If you are the victim of credit card fraud act quickly to lessen the damage to you. Using sensible precautions in preventing credit card fraud are a lot easier than trying to deal with the mess after the event.
