06.13.08
Credit Card Theft: Honey, did you take my credit card to Houston???
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?
Stumble it!
the last express | Lasts information said,
June 14, 2008 at 3:04 am
[...] Honey, did you take my credit card to Houston last week???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 …Credit Mom Blog - http://www.creditmomblog.com/ [...]
the last express | Hottags said,
June 14, 2008 at 3:05 am
[...] Honey, did you take my credit card to Houston last week???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 …Credit Mom Blog - http://www.creditmomblog.com/ [...]
Accept Credit Cards Online said,
June 29, 2008 at 6:00 pm
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CreditMom said,
June 30, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Hi,
Thanks for reading!
CreditMom
naomihunter said,
July 2, 2008 at 12:07 pm
ID theft is such a frightening thing, seriously. I mean, there’s medical ID theft, where the criminals use your ID to get medical treatment (also a societal commentary on the state of the nation, methinks), and there’s the damage to credit, obviously. Anyway, I put up an idfreeze on my account. It won’t do much specifically for my medical records, but a few services offer security for those in addition to their usual credit services.
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July 14, 2008 at 2:42 am
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CreditMom said,
July 14, 2008 at 9:48 am
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July 17, 2008 at 12:05 pm
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CreditMom said,
July 17, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Interesting the places we pop up! Thanks for reading.
credit repair kits said,
August 1, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Identify theft is becomeing more and more problomatic with people. Students are at a hight risk. Many students have not checked their credit reports and have no idea what is on them. Many of the colleges have changed to remove the SSN from their college ID’s; however, many still use them. All you need is a name and a SSN and you are on your way to getting a credit card or a loan. So if there are any students out there check your credit reports carefully and BE CAREFUL,
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