The Threat is Real: 5 Things You Need to Know About Credit Card Fraud

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Credit card fraud is not something about which you need to go through your life in constant fear. However, it does exist, and it is widespread, so you need to take some precautions to be sure that it doesn’t happen to you. Falling victim to credit card fraud is a hassle that’s going to take up your time and try your patience, so think about services like Ivrnet Safepay and others that can give you some peace of mind. Here are five things about credit card fraud about which you should know.

 

Is There Anything I Can Do to Prevent It?

 

There are things that you can do that will help prevent credit card fraud. The most significant thing is to keep a close watch on your accounts. If you have a dozen cards, and you don’t check the balances on them all that often, that can create a situation where someone might be fraudulently making purchases on your card, and it may be weeks or months till you realize it. Keep an eye on your credit score as well. If it changes dramatically, that could mean someone has gotten hold of your card information.

 

How Can I Be Safe From It Completely?

 

There’s nothing that can be done which will completely prevent credit card fraud from happening to you. However, under federal law, credit card holders cannot be held liable for more than $50 in fraudulent charges, while for debit card holders it’s $60, provided that they report the fraudulent charges within two days. That should make you feel better.

 

New Account Fraud

 

This is a popular kind of fraud in which a thief gets a new card in your name by getting your social security number and other personal information. They then rack up lots of charges in your name. The best way to prevent it is to try and keep all of your personal information as safe as possible. Don’t buy things using unsecured computer networks, since that is one of the principle ways that thieves can steal your identity.

 

Data Breaches Occur Often

 

Another way that thieves can get access to your personal information is through data breaches. If you are a customer of a big store like Target or Walmart and someone hacks into their site, they might be able to snatch your credit card info as well as all of your other personal information. That is why security measures for any business website to which you have given your card numbers are such a huge concern.

 

Credit Card Skimming

 

Another common way that thieves try to get your credit card information is by putting skimming devices on ATMs. One way to prevent this is by only using ATMs at your bank rather than ones at corner stores or other potentially disreputable places. If you see any strange device attached to an ATM, don’t use it.

 

Credit card fraud is something that you can take steps to avoid if you’re careful, but it’s impossible to circumvent it entirely unless you have no credit cards at all. Since that is not a palatable solution for most people, the best thing that you can do is to use credible ATMs and only buy things from secure websites using your home computer.

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