Generally, having early knowledge of credit card fraud is necessary. There are ways to minimize the damages a thief can cause to your card account if the card is stolen or lost. you need to Lodge your report to your card issuers immediately.
Also, your creditor will cancel your account and issue a new credit card with a fresh account number to stop any fraudulent charges from being made to your account.
Credit Card Fraud
However, these days credit card compromise is on the increase. Credit card compromise means that credit card information may be obtained by an unauthorized individual(s). It, therefore, means that your card number could be used by someone else. Monitor your account daily and report any fraudulent activities to the creditor. Getting a fraud alert from your creditor would alert you of suspicious activity on your account.
Examples of Credit Card Fraud
Furthermore, credit card fraud has become a big business for criminals. According to Javelin Research, Over 15.4 million Americans were involved in identity theft fraud in 2016. However, knowing identity thieves are looking for your data should help you protect yourself from becoming a victim. Below are various types of fraud that are common:
Drivers License Identity Theft
This is the most common form of ID theft. Criminals steal your ID try to make purchases under your name and get other forms of identification with their picture which can lead to criminal identity theft. You can add an initial security alert to your credit file if your driver’s license is stolen.
Mail Identity theft
This is one of the oldest patterns for a criminal to steal your personal information. A thief may be able to access and retrieve your financial account information to make purchases.
Credit Card Fraud or Debit Card Fraud
However, Fraudsters can steal your credit card account number, PIN, and security code to make unauthorized transactions, without your physical credit card. This unlawful transaction like these is Card-not-present-fraud.
Online Shopping Fraud or E-commerce Fraud
Fraud like this occurs when criminal leverage stole payment information or fraudulently acquired bank or credit card accounts to attempt retail transactions without the account owners’ knowledge.
Additionally, there are other examples of credit card fraud; Social Security number identity Theft, Account Takeover Identity theft, Senior Identity theft or Senior Scams, Child Identity theft, Tax Identity theft, Biometric ID theft, Criminal Identity theft, synthetic identity theft, New Account Takeover, Medical identity theft, Loan Stacking Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, Auto Lending Fraud, Employment Identity theft, Bust out Fraud, and Internet of Things Identity theft.
Credit Card Fraud Alert and How Do I Sign Up
Receiving credit card fraud hurts credit card issuers more than a cardholder. This makes an issuer wants to improve its services to ensure cardholders’ protection. if you detect fraudulent activity always report credit card fraud promptly.
Furthermore, to find out if your card issuers offer fraud alert notifications, simply log into your credit card online account. Or contact your credit card customer service for inquiries. Each credit card issuer’s website is different. Once you log into your account, search for the menu. Next, edit you’re your profile or account settings. Then you’ll see the fraud Notifications to your credit card issuers’ offers.
How To Protect Yourself From Credit Card Fraud
Generally, Credit card fraud happens every day in a variety of ways. You can’t always prevent it from taking place, but you can also prevent it and protect yourself against card fraud. Here are a few fraud protection steps;
- Don’t give your account number to anyone on the phone. Especially if you have not done any business transactions with them before, do an online search on such a company.
- Carry your cards separately from your wallet. In case of a wallet loss and always ensure that you only carry the particular card you need for that outing
- Never sign a blank receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total
- Keep your eyes on your card during a transaction. Ensure that you get your card back immediately after any transactions
- Always save your receipt to compare with your statement
- Open your bills promptly or check them online often and reconcile them with the purchases you’ve made.
- Report any questionable charges to the card issuers
- Notify your card issuer if your address changes or if you will be traveling and the destination
- Do not write your account number on the outside of the envelope.
In summary, Credit card fraud alerts are a complimentary service offered by your credit card issuer. Of course, you should always monitor your credit card activity by logging into your account periodically between billings and reviewing transactions.