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06.13.08

Credit Card Theft: Honey, did you take my credit card to Houston???

Posted in Credit Cards at 1:01 pm by CreditMom

I grew up in the city so I always considered myself to be pretty savvy…well not this time when I found I was a victim of credit card theft. About a year or so ago, I received my American Express statement and noticed strange charges. I live in New York and was pretty certain I hadn’t traveled to Houston within the past month (nor did I notice the hubby missing for a few days!) yet there were multiple charges from JC Penney in Houston. I reported the charges to American Express immediately. They investigated the issue, credited the charges and determined that my credit card had been cloned. After jogging my memory I realized the only place this could have occurred was my local gas station, which had just temporarily closed to install new pumps (the ones that accept your credit card!).

What’s credit card cloning?

Credit card cloning or “skimming” is when your credit card information is duplicated onto a fake credit card.

How is it done?

It’s pretty simple. The credit card is swiped onto a small remote device about the size of a mobile phone. The credit card details are stored on the magnet strip. All of those details are transferred to the device which stores it in memory. After that the details are loaded onto a counterfeit card creating an exact duplicate of your credit card.

Where does this happen?

It’s common for this to occur in restaurants, bars and gas stations; basically any place where you hand your card to someone and it disappears for a short amount of time. So think about it – when you’re paying a restaurant check you typically hand your card to the waiter and you don’t see it until it comes back with the bill. Or, if you’re at a full self service gas station, you hand your credit card to the attendant and they go into the office to swipe it. It can also occur at ATM’s where people mount cameras that will record you inputting your PIN number. Often times it’s pretty blatant and done right in front of you.

Take a look at this post from this video on youtube.com from nextdaycreditcards.com. It’s amazing how simple this really is.

Credit card cloning is big business. You can protect yourself a few ways: Use only home base ATM machines, pay with cash at restaurants or use your credit card in restaurants that swipe the card right in front of you only . Also, only frequent gas stations with pumps that accept credit cards. Be wary if there are extra devices on an ATM machine because they could be cameras. Also, be careful if your card seems to get “stuck” in a machine and a bystander offers to “help” you out. Do NOT give them your PIN under any circumstances.

 

Will this prevent you from being a victim of credit card cloning or “skimming”? Absolutely not. Despite taking precautions and being constantly aware of your surroundings you must check your credit card statement carefully at least once a month. Also consider a credit report & alert service that provides a monthly credit report and will alert you if someone is accessing your credit history, trying to open up an account in your name or any other unusual activity.

 

And what do I do? I check my credit and debit card activity daily online. And since I have condensed all of my cards to one credit and one debit it takes just a few minutes and is well worth the time. What do you do to protect your credit/debit cards?

 

06.06.08

Keeping up with the Joneses: Peter’s House is Bigger!

Posted in Credit Cards at 4:08 pm by CreditMom

My 10 year old twins had a play date at their new friend Peter’s house last week.  When they arrived home I asked them if they had a good time.  They answered, “Mom, Peter’s house is so much bigger than ours!”  “That’s great, but did you have a good time?”  “Mom, you can’t believe how big Peter’s house is and he has so much stuff in it.  He has a huge plasma TV, XBox 360, Wii and a PSP. They are so rich!”

What I wanted to say and what I did say are two different things.  I wanted to say, Peter’s parents are up to their eyeballs in credit card debt (his mom actually told me this!).  So of course they can afford all that “stuff” when they just throw it on a credit card.

Well, I decided to restrain myself and give them the typical speech.  I’m sure you know the one…being rich isn’t about money, it’s about having your health, your family and giving to people in need; money doesn’t buy happiness; it doesn’t matter how much is in your pocket, what counts is what is in your heart and everyone has different priorities in life and we shouldn’t make judgments.  That ought to work, right?

But here is the scary thing; there are many families like Peters’ out there.  And this influences our children every day.  Here are some facts; the total amount of consumer debt (not including mortgage debt) was $2.46 trillion in June 2007.  Based on the US median household income of $43,200 in 2007, the average family’s credit card balance is roughly 5% of that.  And in 2007, 8.3% of US households owed $9,000 + on their credit cards. (Source: Creditcards.com, Federal Reserve).  That’s a lot of “stuff”!

So what do you tell your kids when you see their values becoming materialistic based on peers?  I guess there’s my favorite line I forgot to mention above…“If it’s so great at Peter’s house, then go live there!”