How do people get your credit card information to buy things that you might have to pay for? Some of the most common ones are:
Dinner at a restaurant costs money. Your waiter or waitress takes your credit card with the check for your dinner, brings it to the register, runs the transaction, and returns your card with a receipt to be signed. When the card was returned to you, you didn't realise that it wasn't even yours. Some waiters and waitresses might give you a fake credit card in return and use your real credit card to buy things later. Or, the waiter or waitress might have given you back the credit card, but only after writing down the details and putting them in their back pocket. With that info, he or she can buy things online or over the phone without having to sign any receipts.
Thieves sometimes hide in contests because everyone wants to win free stuff. You'll get a letter in the mail saying that you've won a free vacation or item, but you have to join a travel club or pay for the item's shipping. When you give your credit card information to join a club or pay for shipping, you might not get the free trip or free item, and you might start seeing charges on your credit card statement that you didn't make.
If a thief goes through your trash and finds copies of your receipts or other papers with your credit card information, they can use that information to buy things in your name and on your account.
Credit card holders and lenders lose millions of dollars every year because of fraud. Not all fraud can be stopped, but there are things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud.
Watch the waiter or waitress as they take your card to the register to pay, or better yet, bring the card up yourself and stand there while it is processed. This will make sure that no one has time to write down what you say. Draw a line through each of the money amounts above your signature on the receipt. If you leave a cash tip on the table instead of taking it off your credit card, cross out the tip line or write "on table" in that space so the waiter or waitress can't fill it out later to get some money.
Sign the back of a new credit card as soon as you get it. Don't just keep your credit cards in your wallet. Keep the receipts from things you buy with your credit card so that at the end of each month, you can compare what you actually bought with what is on your statement to make sure everything is correct. It's the same as making sure a checking account is in balance every month.
If you shop online, use virtual card numbers and make sure the site is safe and encrypts your payment information before you send it. This will stop hackers from getting your information and using it to steal your identity while it's being sent.
Whenever you can, don't give your credit card information over the phone.
Check your credit card billing statements every month, even if you haven't made any purchases, to make sure there are no purchases on the statement that you didn't make. This makes it easier to catch fraud before it gets out of hand.
If you think you might have been a victim of credit fraud or identity theft, call your credit lenders right away. Once it is reported, there are laws that protect you from charges made in your name, and the most you can be held responsible for under federal fraud laws is $50.
