How to Avoid Credit Card Fraudsters
In South Africa, credit card fraud is most prevalent in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Credit card fraud often involves an intricate series of tricks used to trap unsuspecting victims.
Over the years credit card fraudsters have come up with increasingly sophisticated ways to steal.
Some of the most common ways credit card fraudsters use:
ATM Card skimming
A card reader illegally copies encoded information from the magnetic strip. Software is used to download the information onto a computer and encode another card.
Handheld card skimming
A handheld card skimming machine is used to get details.
Point of sale card skimming
Personnel working at retail outlets may skim customers’ cards. Make sure that you follow your card and that you don’t let it out of your site.
Computers infected with spyware
If card information is typed on an n infected computer, the characters could be relayed to the criminal. This credit card information is then used to commit Card Not Present (CNP) fraud. This is a fraudulent transaction where neither the card nor cardholder are present when the transaction is conducted.
How to avoid credit card fraudsters:
- When using an ATM, if you suspect that the ATM is faulty, cancel the transaction immediately.
- Be cautious of strangers distracting you and offering to assist you at an ATM.
- Whenever you use your credit card, shield the hand that is typing your PIN.
- Never let the card out pf your sight when making payments. Never allow retail or restaurant personnel to take your card out of your sight.
- Don’t use the same PIN for all of your credit cards.
- Never write your PIN on your card and don’t leave sensitive information lying around.
- Never share your account details via email. Remember that your bank or credit card issuer will never ask for your PIN through email correspondence.
