Owning your own credit card is obviously a huge benefit for any individual or business owner, but there’s no denying that this also means taking on many risks in the process.
While effective credit card fraud prevention techniques do exist and continue to advance and improve, it’s important for card holders to understand that the scammers and hackers are evolving as well. It is important to know how and where to look for new dangers before the crime has already been committed and purchases have been made.
Let’s take a look at some of the newer techniques that are being used, and how simply keeping an eye on your credit card and your surroundings can lower your risk of being scammed.
Skimmers
Skimmers, box-shaped electronic devices which can be hidden near places of payment, act like little flies on the wall of cash registers and devices that accept credit cards. They steal the personal and financial information when cards pass through them. From your name, to your credit limit, to your PIN number, skimmers snatch up all of the pertinent information needed to circumvent any sort of credit card fraud prevention and rack up charges on your account without your knowledge.
Make sure to take stock of your surroundings when preparing to use your card at a register. If you see anything that looks suspicious, including a small, nondescript looking electronic box, take your business elsewhere.
Card Switch
This method is a little more old-school, but it can still occur at restaurants where mischievous employees will accept your credit card as payment, but switch it out with an old, similar looking card under another person’s name.
A simple and effective means of credit card fraud prevention while at a restaurant, or any other establishment where an employee handles your card for you, is to make sure that the card returned to you is the same card that you handed over.
Cell Phone Camera Scam
In today’s smart-phone dependent society, it’s perfectly normal to see the majority of people in any given place all on their mobile devices in one way or another, whether talking, texting, or surfing the web.
What doesn’t seem so common are those people utilizing their smartphones as a means to obtain your credit card information.
With most cell phones now capable of capturing high-quality images, many thieves are capable of posing as innocent passerbyers keeping to themselves. In reality, they are waiting for you to take out your credit card to make a payment so that they can snap a quick picture of your information before going on their own personal shopping spree.
Your best bet credit card fraud prevention in this situation is, again, to be aware of your surroundings when using your card in public. Avoid reading your credit card information aloud whenever someone may be in hearing distance.
Whatever the scenario, you can keep your financial information safe on a basic level by following these principles. If you seek more advanced credit card fraud prevention services, get in touch with the experts at Allied Wallet today.
