Credit Card Scams
P.T. Barnum said there was a customer born every minute, but considering the threats to consumers, sometimes it seems like there’s a scammer/thief/crook born every minute. Unfortunately, credit cards are one of their prime targets.
One of the latest scams is “credit card shaving.” In this scam, the thief randomly tries 16-digit card numbers until one of them shows as valid. Then, he “shaves” the numbers from a pre-paid card and replaces them with the guessed number.
This sounds like a lot of work, but with the right equipment, putting new numbers on an old card can be done in a manner that most store clerks won’t notice. To prevent the clerk from simply “swiping” the card, the thief disables the magnetic strip on the back, forcing the clerk to key in the numbers.
Someone can be using your card without it ever leaving your wallet.
This is one reason why you must check your credit card statements as soon as they arrive each month, and must notify your card issuer immediately when you spot a bogus charge. Then file a police report, because most credit card companies won’t remove the charges without one.
Another new scam involves stealing your cards from your mailbox. You know that the sticker on new cards tells you to activate the card from your home phone. This was a safety feature to prevent a mail thief from using stolen cards.
Now a new website offers the means to place a call from any phone and make it appear to be coming from any other phone. All the thief has to do after stealing your card is look up your phone number in the local directory.
If the thief plans on long-term use of your account, he or she can contact your credit card company and fill out a change of address so you get neither the card nor the statement showing an ever-enlarging balance due.
If you’re expecting a new card in the mail – either on a new account or a date extension on an existing account – make sure to watch for its arrival. If it doesn’t show up in a reasonable amount of time, call your credit card issuer to see if it has been sent. If so, have them check to see if it has been activated and if there are any charges.
Along with notifying your card issuers and law enforcement, you should notify the credit bureaus immediately when a credit card has been compromised.
De-activate the affected credit card numbers and get new cards, but ask your card issuer to do so in a way that shows you are merely changing account numbers.
