Look Out For The Warning Signs Of Credit Card Fraud
- Check your account statements regularly. One of the fastest ways to spot theft is to regularly review debit and credit card statements.
- Pay attention to fraud alerts. If your bank or credit card alerts you of suspicious activity, look into claims by going to the website yourself or calling the official number. Be wary of clicking links on fraud alert texts or emails, as they may be scams.
- Consider a credit monitoring service. Aura will alert you of any suspicious activity immediately. Every second counts during an identity theft attempt, and Aura delivers alerts at least 2x faster than the competition.
Be Sensible About Where And How You Use Your Card
Reduce the chance of falling victim to a large-scale breach by not allowing the retailer to store your credit card details. Enter your credit card details each and every time you make a purchase.
Make sure to use a separate password for every account you make with an online retailer. A password manager is the easiest way to generate and store unique passwords across sites.
It might sound obvious, but don’t type your details out in public view where people can see your screen. Also, avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi networks if you’re shopping on a mobile device and use your cellular data instead.
What Is Credit Card Fraud
Maybe you first heard of credit card fraud after a major breach, during which fraudsters accessed millions of credit card accounts at retail checkout. That kind of point-of-sale fraud was greatly reduced in the U.S. with the introduction of chip technology in credit cards. EMV cards create a new transaction code each time a card is used, making them far more difficult to hack than older cards with magnetic stripes.
But cyber thieves can still get their hands on your information by buying batches of credit card numbers, details and personal information on the dark web. Criminals access that information during a data breach, then sell it to other criminals. Or you may inadvertently provide the bad guys with the information yourself, by trying to make a purchase on a fake shopping website or a donation to a fake charity.
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Check Your Credit Card Statements Regularly
The best way to protect against credit card fraud is by keeping a close eye on your accounts. Check your credit card statements at least once a month to make sure each charge on your credit card is actually yours. If you find suspicious charges or purchases on your accounts, inform your credit card issuer right away.
Encrypting Physical Credit Cards
At a minimum, all consumers should have chip-based cards. If you have any magnetic-stripe cards remaining in your wallet, contact your issuer and see if they have updated cards available. If it’s possible to use a chip instead of swiping your card while shopping, always do so.
The same goes for contactless credit cards or mobile wallets. Both options offer more encryption and thus higher amounts of security than magnetic-stripe systems.
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Be Aware Of Phishing Scams
When a hacker engages in phishing scams, they attempt to steal your information by impersonating legitimate companies. For example, hackers may pretend to be an advisor from your bank or a sales representative from Amazon.
Phishing scams that compromise credit card safety happen in several ways. Some hackers will send an email or text message, prompting you to open a link. Opening these links often results in installing malware and viruses on your devices. While you can easily spot some phishing activities, some hackers take very substantial measures to make themselves seem as legit as possible.
Another way this can carry out is by phone call. Many hackers will impersonate your bank or company and ask for personal and credit card information. Never give out personal information unless youve verified that the numbers belong to someone from that institution. Even then, if you randomly receive a call that requires giving out your credit card information, hang up as soon as possible.
Which Scams Should You Be Most Worried About
With all these methods, you might wonder: which credit card fraud poses the greatest threat?
These card details end up for sale to hackers on the Dark Web for as little as $14 .
You can check to see if your credit card information has been compromised in a data breach using Auraâs Identity Guard Dark Web scanner.
Unfortunately, we usually canât protect ourselves from data breaches.
For credit card theft that targets individuals, phishing is probably the most common method today. But scammers who steal your credit card information want to keep you blind to their scams as long as possible .
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Turn On Your Credit Card’s Added Layer Of Security
Many credit cards will have an additional layer of security that might not be enabled by default. MasterCard’s SecureCode is a one-time code you enter every time you make a transaction on a supported site. Verified by Visa also requires a passcode to authorize a purchase. On top of these safeguards, some banks also have their own verification system in place that works in place of SecureCode and Verified by Visa. This may include the bank sending a one-time PIN or security code to your phone as a second layer of authorization. Check with your bank or financial institution to see if one of these options is available.
Both Mastercard and Visa offer Zero Liability protection against fraudulent transactions for both online and offline use.
Common Ways Credit Card Information Is Stolen
Hackers can steal credit and debit card information in a variety of ways, using both online and offline methods.
1. Phishing
Can a website steal your credit card info? The short answer is yes.
With phishing, hackers attempt to steal valuable information by impersonating a trusted source. Phishing schemes can come in several different forms, including phone calls, fake websites and sales emails.
For example, someone pretending to be from your issuing bank or credit card company calls and says they need to verify your credit card activity with some personal information and starts off by asking for your credit card number. Alternatively, a phishing email posing as a retailer offering you a discount or free items could be trying to trick you into giving up account details.
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How to prevent: The best way to prevent phishing scams — whether via email, phone or text — is to never give up any personal or credit card information unless you initiated the contact. Also, go directly to a retailer’s website to conduct business to ensure you control all transactions.
2. Malware and spyware
Be careful what you download.
Accidentally downloading malware or spyware can enable hackers to access information stored on your computer, including credit card information and other details. Malware may include a keylogger that records your keystrokes or browser history and then sends that information to a hacker.
3. Skimming
4. Data breaches
5. Public Wi-Fi networks
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Don’t Share A Photo Of Your Credit Card On Social Media
Surprisingly many people are comfortable sharing essential documents like social security cards, health insurance and credit cards on social media. Due to the far reach of social networking sites, the information shared there can reach millions of people in less than a day. You may feel it is nice to share the excitement of acquiring a new credit card with your followers, but you can do that without adding a pic of it. If you think you may be a victim of online credit card fraud after sharing pictures of your credit card, search online for a CVV shop that can provide you with some support.
The Top 14 Ways Scammers Steal Credit Card Numbers
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Check Your Credit Reports
Its important to check your credit report regularly. Federal law allows you to obtain one free copy of your credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion each year. But because of the pandemic you can receive one free credit report each week.
You can order the report at AnnualCreditReport.com, complete the Annual Credit Report request form, or call 1-877-322-8228.
Tips To Avoid Identity Theft And Secure Your Credit Card
Tip 1: Don’t make transactions on open networks. WiFi networks that are open, or that don’t require a password for access, are incredibly vulnerable to hackers and data leakages. Always use secured networks. It is important to note that if a webpage doesn’t begin with “HTTPS,” it is most likely an unsecured site.
Tip 2: Don’t email your card number. Writing down your number on paper or in an email is an easy way for fraudsters to acquire it, as these are other unencrypted mediums.
Tip 3: Keep your account number private. That’s pretty self-explanatory.
Tip 4: Never store credit card information on a website. Another easy precaution you can take is disabling autofill on your web browser to ensure websites where you’ve previously made purchases don’t save your info.
Tip 5: Check your account often. Review your credit statements frequently to stay abreast of any issues. If there are errors or fraudulent charges, get in touch with your bank or your credit card company immediately.
Tip 6: Don’t post or send photos of your credit card. Anything posted on the internet can never truly be erased. Even if you cover up some of the numbers on the card’s front or back, hackers can still attempt to make purchases with visible numbers.
Tip 7: Have unique passwords. Having a specific password that you change frequently is a simple yet effective step to ensure that your online credit accounts are less likely to fall prey to hackers.
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How To Prevent Id Theft
In the age of digital commerce and electronic record keeping, cyber criminals are constantly devising new schemes for hijacking personal data and using it to unlock financial holdings. It’s critical for all individuals to watch out for unauthorized credit activity. For many, automated and identity theft protection services provide an extra level of caution and care that can safeguard credit and avoid costly, time-consuming remedies to identity theft.
Use Legitimate Known Websites
The safest way to pay online is to use trusted, reputable retailers. If a site is unknown to you, here are some tips:
- Research the company and read customer reviews to be sure there aren’t a lot of complaints about service, products, or security.
- If someone sends you a link to a product online, navigate to the website independentlyânot by clicking the link. Doing so will help you avoid phishing scams.
- Double-check that the address, or URL, contains the company’s name, not a slightly different version of the correct spelling .
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Installing Malware Or Spyware On Your Device
Phishing attacks can also try to get you to download attachments that include malware. This harmful software can steal sensitive data from your devices and share it with hackers.
One common type of criminal software â called a keylogger â records everything you type. This includes credit card numbers, passwords, emails, and more, and sends them to the hacker.
Am I Responsible For Fraudulent Credit Card Purchases
The good news about credit card theft is that most credit cards offer zero fraud liability protection, meaning youre not on the hook for a single cent in fraudulent purchases. However, the absolute most you could be liable for is $50, thanks to protections included in the Fair Credit Billing Act .
This is a huge departure from your potential liability for fraudulent purchases made with a debit card, which could include all the money in your bank account if a thief is able to use your debit account number to drain it and you dont notice the fraud within 60 days of your bank statement being sent to you.
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After: How To Recover From Identity Theft
If you’ve noticed any of the above signs, and you’ve been able to confirm the theft of your personal or financial information, keep calm. There are ways to minimize the damage and to protect yourself from future theft.
First, anyone that is a victim of identity theft is protected by the FTC’s Identity Theft Fraud Victim Bill of Rights. It’s a list of 21 rights as assured by the U.S. federal government. Protections fall into such categories as “Working with Credit Bureaus”, “Communicating with Creditors and Debt Collectors,” and “Limits on Financial Losses.”
Next, you can take one of two steps to begin recovery from identity theft. You can either initiate a fraud alert or a credit freeze. Which one you choose depends on the type of personal information stolen and the severity of the fraud it has been used for.
Check Your Browser Settings
Turn off your browser’s autocomplete settings to avoid it storing your credit card number or personal information.
In Chrome, go to Settings and select Advanced. Under the Passwords and Forms section, click Autofill settings. Delete any credit card information that is automatically stored, then toggle off the option to use autofill.
Toggle off the Autofill switch altogether, or just choose to have addresses rather than credit cards stored.
In Firefox, go to Preferences. Find the Privacy panel and look for the History drop-down box. Choose Use custom settings for history then uncheck Remember search and form history.
In Safari, go to Preferences, AutoFill. Uncheck the options to remember form data, including the credit card option.
Uncheck the credit card option in Safari.
In Edge, select the More Actions button, then Settings and View advanced settings. Uncheck the save form entries toggle.
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Watch Statements For Any Unusual Transactions
While many banks have sophisticated 24/7 monitoring systems designed to detect fraud and unauthorised credit card use, it’s important to keep an eye on your financial statements. If you spot anything suspicious, call your bank immediately.
Hamid Karimi from Beyond Security also suggests letting your bank know where you do your online shopping and to block certain geographies. “For example, if you live in the US, a purchase conducted in Eastern Europe is illegitimate,” he says.
Reduce The Risk Of Online Fraud By Blanking The Security Code
The CVV code at the back of your card is only useful for online shopping, so once it is stored securely in your password manager, there is no reason not to scratch it from the card. The method that I found works best is to use a nail file to remove most of the marking and then blank whats left with a permanent marker. The result of this process is visible in the figure above.
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When Does It Make Sense To Use Credit Monitoring
Credit monitoring is something you should already be doing, by way of obtaining and carefully reviewing your credit reports once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com and by tracking your credit score for free to check for significant score changes you can’t explain based on your borrowing and debt payment activities.
If those checks reveal signs of suspicious activity, or if you have reason to be concerned that your personal data has been compromised, stepping up your watchfulness with automated credit monitoring could be a wise decision.
Cover Your Bank Card And Credit Card Pin Numbers
When thieves attempt to steal your debit card information in person, they need to swipe your card twice. When you hand the clerk your debit card, the clerk will swipe your card once through the proper debit card machine and if they are attempting to steal your debit card information, they will swipe your card a second time through their own skimming device. This is one reason why a clerk should not remove your debit card from your sight, but if they do, you should still be safe as long as they dont get your PIN number. To get this, they will often install a camera above the debit card keypad where you punch in your PIN number. Cover your fingers as you punch in your PIN number so that no oneand no camera abovecan see your PIN number.
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Report Lost Or Stolen Credit Cards Bank Cards & Other Id Right Away
If your credit cards are stolen, it is important that you notify your credit card companies immediately. When credit cards are stolen, many thieves go on a spending spree. Those who dont max the cards out immediately will usually do so within a few days. The sooner you notify a credit card company that your card has been stolen, the sooner they can cancel it and possibly save many people from loosing moneyincluding yourself.
Create Strong Passwords For Online Accounts
Our next credit card security tip involves using strong passwords for all your online accounts. The most secure passwords are long and include upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. when creating one, don’t incorporate personal information and avoid sequential letters and numbers as well as common words .
To learn more, read our guide to creating strong passwords.
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