Dealing with the hassles of credit card fraud or identity theft can be frustrating and time consuming. This training will provide tips on how to protect yourself, your clients and your loved ones.

1. Credit Card Fraud
Ways to Protect Yourself

2. Credit Card Fraud
• Unauthorized charges to your credit card
• Counterfeit cards

3. Credit card fraud can occur
when
• cards are lost or stolen
• mail is diverted by criminals
• employees of a business steal customer
information

4. ID Theft
• Identity theft is the use of someone’s
personal information, such as their Social
Security number or date of birth, to commit
financial fraud
CONSUMER ACTION - Credit Card Fraud
Training

5. ID thieves harm
victims by:
• using their names and other personal
information to open new credit accounts
• accessing existing credit and bank
accounts to make unauthorized
purchases
• Victims of ID theft are not held liable for
losses, but it takes time and effort for
victims to prove fraud and clean up the
chaos
CONSUMER ACTION - Credit Card Fraud
Training

6. Forms of Fraud
• Dumpster Diving
– Stealing credit card information from
discarded receipts or account
statements in people’s trash
– Shred unwanted documents that contain
Social Security numbers, bank and
credit card information and other
sensitive financial information

7. Skimming
• When dishonest employees make illegal
copies of credit or debit cards using a
“skimmer” device that captures credit card
numbers and other account information
– The stolen credit information is used to
make purchases by phone and internet,
or to make counterfeit cards

8. Phishing
• Phishing is a financial crime that starts with
massive numbers of deceptive spam e-
mails
– These e-mails look like they come from
your bank
– But they are just a trick to get account
numbers and passwords

9. Security Codes
• Credit card companies use security codes
to help prevent unauthorized or fraudulent
use by phone and online
– These numbers help ensure that the
you have the card — not just the
account number
• Merchants are prohibited from keeping or
storing any security codes after
transactions are completed

10. Security Codes
• Security codes for Visa,
Master, and Discover
cards are the 3 digits
located on the back of
the card in the signature
box.
• Security codes for
American Express are 4-
digits long, printed on the
front of the card above
the right side of the main
credit card number.

11. New Cards
• For added protection, credit card issuers
ask you to call from home to activate new
credit cards
• As soon as you receive your new card,
sign the back of it with a permanent black
ink pen

12. Should you write
“Ask for ID”?
• Writing “Ask for ID” in the signature space
may not be a good idea as your
transactions might not go through if the
card isn’t signed
• Consider signing your card and also writing
“Ask for ID”

13. Liability
• Fraud victims are not generally required to
pay for unauthorized charges
• Victims may be liable for up to $50 of the
loss, depending on the circumstances
CONSUMER ACTION - Credit Card Fraud
Training

14. Watch your credit card
• Watch closely when store or restaurant
employees handles handle your card to
make sure they are not copying or
“Skimming” your credit card number
• After you make a purchase and your card
is handed back to you, make sure the card
is yours.

15. Take precautions
• Notify your credit card company if you are
going to be traveling away from home to
prevent any inconvenience if your issuer
should block your account for being used in
a new location
• Notify your credit card company if you are
going to make any unusually large
purchases so that your account is not
flagged for possible fraud

16. Safeguard your mail
• Notify the post office and your credit card
company immediately if you change your
address
• Lock your mailbox. Never leave mail in an
unlocked mail box or apartment building
lobby
• Put your return address on out-going mail
• Shred unwanted credit card solicitations
before discarding

17. Free Credit Reports
• Online:
www.annualcreditreport.com
• Phone:
1-877-322-8228
• By mail:
Annual Credit Report
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281