Credit-card Thieves Bank On Victims Being Careless

Credit-card Thieves Bank On Victims Being Careless

Newcastle Herald

Thursday November 22, 2007

Noel Whittaker

IT'S every shopper's nightmare come true credit fraud.

Reports of identities being stolen and thousands of dollars being drained from accounts seem like everyday occurrences.

Common instances of fraud include: the theft of a card and someone making purchases by forging the card owner's signature; details on the card being used to pay for goods or services over the phone or internet; access codes for an account being discovered and internet purchases made or money withdrawn at an ATM; or information accessed by skimming from a card and a duplicate created.

To protect yourself against credit card fraud, it is important to employ the following safeguards:

? Don't give your card number over the phone unless you have initiated the call.

? Email is not a secure method of providing credit card details over the internet.

? Keep your PINs and passwords secret and strictly to yourself. If you write down PINs and passwords, disguise them and keep the paper in a different place from your credit cards and somewhere where it isn't likely to be stolen or lost at the same time as your credit card.

? Choose PINs and passwords that are hard to guess. Avoid obvious giveaways such as your date of birth, part of your name, address or other things thieves could easily guess if they know you or steal your bag.

? Don't store internet banking passwords in an undisguised form on your computer if you use your card for goods and services online, send your card details only through secure internet sites and be fussy about the businesses to whom you send your details.

? If you have to leave a blank credit card imprint as a security deposit, make sure it is destroyed in front of you later.

? If carbon paper is used, retain the carbon to avoid somebody replicating your signature.

? When you sign a sales slip, draw a line through any blank spaces above the "total" line.

? Check your account statements promptly and carefully, and contact your institution immediately if there are transactions listed that you don't understand or dispute. A contact number should appear on your account statement.

? If your card is lost or stolen, contact your credit card provider as soon as you realise it's gone. They can put a stop on your card to prevent other people using it. (If you're heading overseas, make sure you have the global emergency number.)

You may be liable for transactions until the bank is notified that the card is missing.

For more details, visit moneymanager.com.au or MoneyMatters at Yahoo7.