Types of Credit Card Fraud

Cash-Point Fraud

Criminals attempt cash-point scams in various ways, the simplest being to simply peer over your shoulder as you enter your PIN. Once memorised, an attempt is later made to rob the card and empty your account of its funds. Always cover the cash-point buttons with your shoulder or hand and be alert to any suspicious behaviour. You should be particularly vigilent when on a night out. Scammers will often pick on drunk or tipsy victims because they view them as much easier prey.

Fraudsters have also started to use ingenious tecnology to rob you of card information when at cash-points. Some use cunning gadgets inserted into the card slot which records the electronic data of a card for cloning or tiny cameras which film the entering of PIN entries for perusal later back at the scammers' den.

Another type of damnable gizmo actually traps your card in the cash-point. Once you are unable to get out, some "kindly soul" - often the prettiest of the scammers' gang - will inevitabley approach as if trying to help. They usually recommend that you enter your pin again - because something similar "happened to their friends´s grandmother last Sunday on the way to church". Confused, you try - unaware that the seeming good samaritan is actually a shameless villain who is memorising your PIN and who will later come back to claim the gobbled card and lay waste to your account.

For this reason, if you notice anything slightly suspicious about a cash-point, or if your card is held without any apparent reason, report the event to the bank immediately. If it takes place at night, call and have your card cancelled - it's much better to be safe than robbed blind by thieves

Telephone fraud

Occurs when scammers attempt to con you into providing your credit card details over the phone. Here are a few of the dastardly tricks they often employ:

1. Call to say you have one a fantastic prize or some large sum of money - all you to do is pay a "small administration fee".
2. Claim to be from your credit card company and ask you to confirm your details
3. Pretend to be from another credit card company, offering some amazing special offer or extremely low interest rate if you transfer your balance. To do this they need your credit card number of course
4. Claim to represent an important charity and ask for a donation. This type of scam is most often, and most effectively employed in the aftermath of some terrible disaster, such as the Asian Tsunami of Hurricane Katrina. It is a trick also seen regularly in email fraud.

Any of these types of fraud can be prevented if you stick to one simple rule. Never give personal information over the phone unless you can verify 100% the identity of the person on the other end.

Credit card fraud online.

It's a fact that credit card fraud on the internet is increasing, but this shouldn't stop you from making purchases online. It is often safer to enter your cc details in an online form than to hand it to some unknown waiter in a restaurant. However, to protect yourself well it is necessary to be aware of the risks.

Whenever making a purchase online, always check that the website has some page with contact information on it, including an address and telephone number. Legitimate businesses always provide some way of allowing the client to contact them and will reply to emails rapidly.

Check also that the website has an SSL certificate (from Geotrust. for example) and that during the checkout process you are passing your details across a secure connection. The simplest way to do this is to check that the web address in your browser has changed from http to https. Also if you have a the status bar activated in your browser you should notice a small yellow lock icon appear in the bottom right hand of the screen. All these things indicate that whatever delicate information being passes is encripted and cannot be accessed by anyone else.

Credit card email fraud

In an attempt to access your personal information, such as credit card numbers, bank details or passwords, many scammers will send fake email messages to potential victims - a tactic popularly known as "Phishing". These emails are sometimes quite sophisticated and can appear to have been sent by a known and trusted source. Often they will use the same logos, font, page design and also may seem to contain a real link to an official, secure website. When they do manage to convince someone to send their information they can then use that data to purchase goods, order new credit cards or even, in extreme cases rob someone´s identity.

Although phishing is a serious problem, is is relatively easy to avoid become a victim. Here are a few tips that can help you to detect these kinds of fraudulent emails

- The email is addressed to "Dear Customer". Phishing emails are generally sent in large quantities and rarely contain first names or surnames.The majority of legitimate emails, on the other hand, will be personalised.

- The email requests you to click through to a website to confirm your account details. Banks never require you to send sensitive informaion via email.

-Melodramatic warnings or threats, such as your account being on the verge of being shut down if action is not taken immediately. Again, this type of communication would never be sent in an email message by any responsible company or banking entity. It is simply a cruel way of trying to cause fear in the victim and provoke them into committing an error.

If an email looks suspicious it probably is, so follow your instincts. If you have any doubt whatsoever do not even click on the links of the email. Instead visit the official webpage of the company that claims to be contacting you by finding its web address and pasting it directly into your browser. You then can manage your account from there. Ideally, you should call the company directly and discuss the matters by telephone and report the suspect message.