Dealing with bank card fraud
Card Fraud, be it credit card or debit card, is when your card details are stolen by fraudsters, who either use them to make unauthorized transactions, most frequently payments and identity theft, or to sell them on to other criminals. You will have noticed card transactions have been made using your bank cards which you did not authorize.
Fraudsters can gain access to your credit card data in a number of ways including stolen cards (either from you or stealing the data from a company you have paid), card skimming or social engineering. Card skimming is when a copy of your card is taken during a legitimate transaction and the card is then cloned and used. Social engineering is when a criminal tricks you into sharing your card details either in person, over the phone (vishing), on email (phishing) or by text (smishing).
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How do you know if you have been a victim of card fraud?
Your debit or credit bank statements show transactions or purchases that you don’t remember making or to vendors you don’t recognise
Your card is rejected multiple times when you try to use it to make a transaction
For credit cards, your credit card provider lets you know that you’ve exceeded your credit limit
Your credit or debit card provider notifies you of changes to bank account details that you have not requested.
Approaches to dealing with card fraud
Contact your bank ASAP - You should notify your debit or credit card provider as soon as you realize there's a problem. They will cancel your cards and reissue new ones. They will also monitor your account and investigate the fraudulent transactions.
Discussion points with your bank - When speaking to your bank you can ask them where the transaction originated from. Ask for more information about the transactions in question. This might help you identify if the card was used locally or not.
Watch out for warning signs of identity theft - Now the criminals have some of your financial details you need to watch for signs of identity theft. First, keep a close eye on your bank and credit card statements, looking for any withdrawals or purchases that you didn’t authorize. You can also check your credit score to monitor the financial products taken out under your name.
Report the crime
If you are in the USA you should report all cases of consumer fraud to IC3 and the FTC - whilst the FTC can’t act on individual reports, your report can help others. If the fraud also includes identity theft then you should report this. For all other types of fraud, find the best place to report in the Department of Justice’s directory.
How to avoid being a victim of card fraud
You can lower the risk of being a victim of card fraud by following this advice:
When you shop online, make sure you use trusted platforms (i.e. check the web address begins with ‘https’ and that there’s an unbroken padlock symbol in the left side of the browser address bar)
Use a computer, laptop or mobile device that’s protected with licensed and up-to-date security software
Don’t let online websites save a copy of your card details for future use
Avoid entering your card details on shared or public WI-FI or computers
Make sure you know the seller or provider before giving your card details online or over the phone
Register for Verified by Visa and/or MasterCard SecureCode
Always log out after shopping and save the confirmation email as a record of your purchase
Make sure you keep your card with you or locked somewhere safe.
Keep your PIN private and don’t use numbers like your date of birth
Shield your PIN when entering it into a machine
Don’t put your credit card into machines that look like they’ve been tampered with
Try not to provide anyone with your credit card information over the phone or via e-mail
If you hear about a data breach in the news and the company involved holds your personal data, check whether your information has been compromised. You can use services like “haveibeenpwned” to monitor data breaches related to your email account.
Regularly check your credit card and bank statements and credit report to ensure that they haven’t recorded activity that you’re unaware of
When disposing of an old credit card, cut up the chip and magnetic strip
Shred paper copies of credit or debit card statements
Close any unused credit card accounts.
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