Identity theft: credit card theft

Many people have realized the devastating consequences that identity theft can have. According to the latest research by the Unisys Security Index, nearly three-quarters of its subjects expressed fear of becoming a victim of identity theft. This is particularly due to people’s growing awareness of identity theft crimes, especially now that it has remained the top consumer complaint for 8 years in a row.

Fear of debit card fraud is second only to identity theft, although the former is also one of the crimes committed by the latter. In fact, they are directly linked by the skimming process. Perhaps he thought of this word as the process of scanning his text paragraphs for faster reading comprehension in his school days, but actually it has more meaning that could put his identity at risk.

The skimming process can occur anytime, anywhere, when you use your credit card to pay for items purchased or services you’ve received. This can happen in a restaurant, for example, when you hand over your credit or debit card to the waiter or waitress and they stop seeing you to verify the authentication of your card. They may have confirmed the authenticity of your card, but you’ll never know if you can trust them enough. There might be chances that you are giving your credit card information to a certain device that these criminals use, called a skimmer. You can save your credit card number instantly, without your knowing anything about it.

Also, your personal information will be further compromised when you use an ATM. Although other people have suggested using ATMs instead of direct banking, they can be proven wrong as skimmers can also be placed inside the ATM. Once you have inserted your card into the machine, a message will flash indicating that it is out of service. As soon as you retrieve your card to try your luck at another machine, the skimmer has already stored your credit card number and personal identification number (PIN).

Therefore, you should check your financial accounts from time to time. Request a copy of your credit history so that you can systematically review your credit transactions and detect any suspicious activity. In fact, you can get one free credit monitoring report annually from all three nationwide credit monitoring companies, namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This was prompted by the government passing the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 to address the growing number of victims of identity theft.

With the invention of skimmers, it is promising that identity theft will further amplify its crime. With the discoveries that technology has brought to criminals, it is not impossible to assume that there will be more schemes to come. Therefore, you need to further protect yourself by being extra vigilant and cautious with everything you do, whether online or in the real world.