Credit card fraud is a type of theft that everyone should be extremely aware of in this day and age. It is a common form of theft and unless the credit card company notices unusual behavior, you may not catch it until you review your bill weeks later. Recently, a friend was not alerted by the credit card provider and found charges for round-trip tickets to Dubai and a rental car on the bill. Needless to say, the friend was very stressed and had to contest the charge with the credit card company. The credit card company was not easy to deal with, and he had to spend a lot of time fighting with them to have it removed.
Basically, there are two reasons that someone would want to steal your credit card. The thief either is looking to draw cash, or will charge up a number of expenses. Generally, the thief will do a bunch of transactions in a short amount of time and then stop with the intention of not getting caught.
As the credit card holder, you should be aware of the various methods that can be used against you:
•Someone can literally steal the card physically.
•Your information can be faked on a credit card application.
•Your account can be taken over by someone who pretends to be you and claims to have lost his or her credit card, which gets them a new one under your name.
•Information on your credit card can be obtained through various skimming methods, such as checking your receipts.
•Carding is a term that refers to the practice of assembling up a large number of credit cards and then checking them with tiny transactions to see if they are indeed legitimate.
•You can get fraudulent and phishing offers on the internet which urge you to give out your credit card number.
Fortunately, merchants and financial institutions have put into place a number of regulations to protect themselves and their clients from credit card fraud. These methods include adding a pin number or requiring the user to enter his or her ZIP code. There are however a few measures which you can take yourself and get a bit more security.
To begin with, you need to immediately report a lost or stolen card to minimize the time the fraudster has to use it. Keep a separate note in your wallet with the credit card provider’s number, so you can call the minute you realize the card is missing. Keep checking your transactions regularly to see if there are any anomalies. When shopping online, only use your credit card with highly reputable and trustworthy websites. Also, you can install software that protects you from viruses and identifies phishing scam emails for you.
All in all, there is a reason why credit cards are such popular targets; they can bring in a lot of money and fast. If you are considering trying credit card theft, or have actually been convicted, then online theft classes are for you. Most likely, if you have already been caught, the court will mandate that the perpetrator take some rehabilitation classes. Online classes provide the student with privacy and the convenience of taking courses at any time of the day or night. This allows the convicted criminal to continue working during the day, going to school or doing the community service work that has been ordered as well. Classes will help to teach empathy. Remember that the victims are not always credited for these transactions and may have to pay for them out of their own pockets. The course outline will spend time on reviewing why you have taken this path and what you can do to stop this type of behavior.
The bottom line is that you should be very careful about where your card is at all times, who you read the number to, who is around while you are reading the number aloud, and check your monthly statements closely.
