Credit Card Fraud

When most people think of identity theft they automatically think of credit card fraud. An identity thief can access your credit card information in a number of ways. They can listen in while you give your credit card information over the phone. They can call you up and ask you to verify your account information. They can send you an email that asks you to verify your account information. Sometimes you will see these as emails from a recognizable company name with a slight twist, like using “Citybank” instead of “Citibank”.

Many thieves simply dig through dumpsters looking for pre-approved credit card offers. They can fill out these offers and get an account in your name sent to their house by changing the address on the account. Setting up an account under an assumed name is one of the easiest ways identity thieves can steal someone’s identity and money.

And unfortunately, even the seemingly helpful calls you get from people who purport to represent your credit card company are often fraudulent. These callers claim they’re with MasterCard or Visa, and they try to scare you by telling you that if you don’t purchase their credit card protection services for $29.95 a month (or some such amount), you will be liable for charges thieves make on your accounts. They ask you to confirm your account and personal information and then they have your total identity.

The truth is there’s already a federal law that limits your liability for credit card fraud to $50 per card! The problem, however, is that even though your liability is only $50, you could still suffer significant damage to your credit report if the fraudulent charges have gone overdue for 30, 60, 90 or even 120 days. Even with documentation that it wasn’t you who made those charges, it can take awhile to clean up credit and some of the damage never goes away.

Most of the time, when a pre-approved application is stolen, you won’t even know that it was sent to you since a thief can intercept it and acquire credit in your name without you ever suspecting it!

As a result, you will find your credit card companies trying to sell you fraud protection against these very problems they cause. Don’t be lured into their protection plans as they are generally very limited and overpriced. For example, as we have explained, identity theft goes far beyond your credit card – into areas like your driver’s license, social security number, employment, and character.

In addition, they generally only monitor your credit report – they don’t do anything to restore your identity once it is stolen. For more information read our section on “Should I sign up for one of those credit card programs”. If you are looking for what we found to be the most comprehensive identity theft protection and restoration available, e-mail us for information or visit our recommended identity theft protection service provider.

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