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10
Ways to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
Imagine
opening your credit card statement one morning and
discovering to your horror that you suddenly owe thousands
of dollars - on purchases that you never
made.
Impossible?
Credit card fraud on the rise, so you need
to treat your
card and its information with extreme care.
Here are 10 tips to help insure you're
not the victim of
thieves and fraudsters:
1. Sign new and replacement cards immediately. Merchants and business owners should use the best chargeback prevention tools.
2. Destroy the old cards by cutting them
into pieces and
shred all old receipts and bills.
3. Don't fax your credit-card number, if
possible. Remember,
the faxed document could remain in sight
at the other end
for long periods of time.
4. Don't give your card number over the
phone unless you
have initiated the call.
5. Destroy any carbon paper if it's used
as part of the
credit card transaction. Somebody can grab
it and forge
your signature.
6. Don't respond to any "scam"
e-mails requesting your
credit card number.
7. Never send your credit card number in
an e-mail to
anyone!
8. A good option for discouraging theft
is to choose a
credit card that includes your photo and
signature on the
card.
9. If you have questions about mistakes
or unauthorized
items on your statement, you have the right
to challenge
them.
10. If your card is lost, stolen, or you
suspect fraudulent
use, call your company's 24-hour hotline
immediately to
prevent your card from being used as little
as possible. The
company will block its use, and you won't
be responsible for
any charges made by thieves.
You'll never deter fraudsters completely.
But you can
certainly make life as difficult as possible
for them.
About the author:
Paul Davis is financial writer
and contributor to 'Debt Elimination 4U'.
Visit the site now and learn how to get
out of debt forever.
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a free merchant account FreeCreditCardProcessing.com
is offering Merchants a free digital processing
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