Scrutinize Your Credit Card Bills

BBB Reminds You to Scrutinize Your Credit Card Bill

You’ve been rushing around shopping for Holiday gifts charging a little of this and a little of that and it can be easy to lose track of what you have charged. With your credit card bills coming in soon, it’s important to verify that every charge on your statement is yours. Why? Because there are so many ways people can add unauthorized charges to your account without even seeing your credit card. Here are some of the ways thieves can steal your credit card number.

Number Testing - One trick con artists use is they keep all the numbers for a credit card the same except the last four digits. These 4 digits are changed until the con artists find numbers that work. They test the numbers with small purchases until they get a “winner” number. Then, they go for the big purchases.

Skimming - A dishonest employee at the point of purchase could scan the card on a special machine before returning the card. The card number will then be used by the employee and/or sold to someone else.

Electronic Pick Pocketing - Technology has provided thieves with a new way of stealing. While you are walking down the street or in a crowded store a person can brush up against you and steal your credit card number. A scanning device is unobtrusively run across your pocket or purse where your wallet is located. Your credit card is captured and you will never know it happened.

ATM Skimming - Identity thieves place seamless devices on ATM machines to steal debit card information. They also tamper with ATMs in any number of different ways in order to steal debit card numbers and PINs. It only takes a few seconds to install cameras over the keypad or a device over the card reader. A few days later, the con artists will come back and take the device out with your credit card number for their use. ATMs aren’t the only hot spots, credit card swipers at gas pumps and retailers can be tampered with as well.

Thieves will find a way to get your credit card number, if they want to. Check every credit card bill and make sure there are no fraudulent charges. If you detect one, call your credit card company immediately and place a fraud alert with each credit reporting agency.