#Creditcardfraud across the world is constantly growing whether it is for personal or business use. As per the FTC(Federal Trade Commission), reports suggest that 151 million Americans(almost 2/3rds of all cardholders) have been victims at some point in their lives. A total of 441,822 new reports of #creditcard fraud were recorded by the FTC. According to FICO, the rate of compromised card data was up 368% over 2021.
Now whether you are a credit card holder in the US or any other part of the world, you should be aware of the different types of #credit #card #fraud and how to prevent them.?
Types of Credit Card Fraud
- Phishing scam - This type of scam happens through email where the scammer sends a mail that looks legitimate mail from a well-known source and tries to gain your personal identification information or credentials to important financial information.?
- Card Skimmers - This method of stealing involves placing a device on or near a card reader such as an ATM. The device reads the sensitive card information and stores it. This lets the scammer use that data later to make fraudulent purchases.
- #Theft - Your actual physical credit card is also prone to real-life theft i.e. being stolen by someone from your wallet.?
- Online shopping #scams - Scammers often create really convincing fake shopping websites. Many people are unaware of this practice and make purchases because they saw a really enticing offer of a product they want. Once the payment is made, the scammers disappear and you never receive your product.?
- #Databreach - This is a form of scam that often you can’t control. A retailer you often shop with online may face a cyber attack where data including your credit card information was stolen.?
Ways to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
- Do not use public Wi-fi when making online purchases or logging into credit card or bank accounts.
- Check the sender's name and email address of fishy emails. Cross-check with past legitimate emails you have received. Directly go to your nearest branch if in doubt to clarify.??
- Update passwords and credentials regularly.
- Double-check the legitimacy of a brand or website when you want to purchase something on it.??
- Keep your wallet and credit card in a secure place.
- Monitor your credit activity regularly to check for payments that you might not have made.?
- Use additional security measures like two-factor authentication that most banks and card providers give.?
Additional Ways Businesses Can Prevent Credit Card Fraud
- Use secure corporate cards - #Corporatecards are meant for business purposes and often do not come with personal liability to pay for the debt. Since they are made for businesses, they also have additional security features like temporarily freezing or permanently blocking the cards through an app.?
- Use card linked to #expensemanagement systems - Corporate credit cards linked to an expense management system will often allow you to set custom spending limits for each employee's card. This will ensure that there is minimal to no chance of internal fraud or accidental overspending.
- Use virtual corporate cards - A #virtualcard for online #payments is often deemed to be the ultimate security measure against scammers and fraudsters.?
- Using a virtual card eliminates the chance of physical theft.?
- Virtual cards when created are specially tokenized with unique digits that are not directly linked to a bank account and have limited funds on them. So even if your virtual card details are compromised online, the scammer cannot trace it back to additional funds.?
- Plus similar to normal corporate cards, you can freeze or block them at any time.?
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