Credit Card Fraud is on the Rise: How you can Protect yourself from becoming the Next Victim
The numbers are quite staggering: credit card fraud flew to the number-one spot in 2009 in terms of identity theft. In particular, credit card fraud accounted for nearly 75 percent of all identity theft cases last year.
This jump in credit card fraud represents an amazing 63 percent increase from 2008. In addition, the number of identity theft victims rose 12 percent to 11.1 million.
Other numbers reported by Javelin’s annual identity theft fraud report include:
- Total losses from identity theft rose 12 percent to $54 billion in 2009, up from $48 billion in 2008.
- Theft amounts, per victim, were approximately $4,481 in 2009.
- Debit card fraud dropped to 33 percent of all identity theft, down from 35 percent in 2008.
It’s no surprise that identity theft is steadily increasing, given the amount of time that individuals spend on the Internet, notebooks and PDAs.
So, what can you do to ensure that you’re not the next victim of credit card fraud?
- Use one credit card exclusively for online shopping. This will allow you to better monitor the card and the activity on the card. You may also want to request a lower credit limit on the card to prevent a credit card thief from going wild on your credit card.
- Make sure all of your credit cards have ample credit card theft protection. Carefully read the terms and conditions of your credit cards so that you are aware of your responsibility should your credit card be stolen.
- Never, ever, ever make a purchase online unless you have the most up-to-date firewall protection.
- Pay close attention to merchants when handing over your credit card. Many of the identity thefts of today can steal your credit card numbers in a matter of second using small, handheld devices called skimmers. Many times, this theft is done when the merchant walks away from the counter to complete your purchase.
- Use the power of the Internet to check and recheck your credit card accounts. Easy-to-navigate credit card websites allow us to check our current balances, view recent transactions and pay online. Use this technology to keep a close eye on your credit cards so that if your credit card account is compromised then you can deal with it sooner than later.
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