Help For Your Credit Fraud Situation
Posted by Peter Brady on Mon 3rd July 2006 at 09:00 AM, Filed in Fraud
Did you know that fraud on UK credit and debit cards costs over £1 million every day? Frightening statisitc really.
So what can you do to mitigate a fraud in the UK?
Well, chip (the sophisticated little card chip) and pin (personal identification number) is helping matters.
According to the “Crime Support Financial”
“If your card is used or stolen you are fully protected by the UK Banking Code. The Code is a voluntary system that sets out standards for good banking practice, including limiting liability for cardholders that are victims of fraud. Under the Code, if someone else uses your card before you tell your card issuer it has been lost or stolen or that someone else knows your PIN, the most you will have to pay, in theory, is £50.
In practice the bank or building society will usually refund the full amount lost. But if the cardholder were negligent, for example, by keeping their PIN near their card, they would have to meet all the losses.”
Interestingly if there are fraudulent transactions on your card while you are still in possession then you are exempt from paying for any of those fraudulent transactions - this type of fraud is usually the result of "counterfeit skimming" or cloning of your card.
Here are some sensible precautions for protecting yourself against fraud:
- As a rule common sense prevails in terms of identifying fraudulent activity on your card. Generally, I spend an hour per month scrutinising my credit card bill. Lots of fraudsters are quite sophisticated in taking only small regular debits so as to not arouse suspicion. I have found these on my account twice and would probably have missed them if I hadn't spent my hour every month checking the bill.
- Obviously don't leave your pin number lying around, written down or saved on your computer. It's tricky because in the hectic world we all live in there maybe a mesmerising number of logins and passwords to recall. I guess it's just down to using sensible prompts for these that are as secure as possible.
- Secure your card in a safe place. Easier said than done, particularly after a few beers.
- Don't lose sight of your card when making a transaction. Most retailers and restaurants have portable swipe machines nowadays.
- Be careful about discarding receipts and other personal documents. Shredding usually takes care of this - try and use the cross shredders as these have proven to be a little more secure.
- When using a cash machine, be wary of anyone who might be trying to watch you enter your PIN and do not allow yourself to be distracted by anyone trying to talk to you. Easier said than done as often the natural reflex is to turn when someone talks to you or taps you on the shoulder.
These basic common sense tips can save you alot of time, hastle and potentially money.
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