Show y ft Z r 74 r Voice of business busino s Protect yourself from credit-card credit fraud By Dy Arch Booth president of or orthe the Chamber of or Commerce of or orthe the United States With about million credit cards In circulation the chances are good you have several of them in your own wallet or purse And that makes you a potential victim or an unwitting accomplice to credit card fraud Happily credit card losses due to fraud have been declining lately as a percent of sales for most card Issuers But Dut the issuers are are still absorbing an estimated million a year In related fraud-related losses lasses LOST OR stolen cards can subject users to lo inconvenience possible monetary loss and considerable embarrassment depending upon the clr cir And of course as I never tire lire of preaching anything that increases the costs of doing business is inevitably passed along to the consumer in the form of higher prices How do the crooks get the cards How lIow They're Lost Sixty percent of losses involve cards that were lost by or stolen from cardholders Such loss occurs most frequently in hotels or motels Pickpockets are the next major cause Theft from auto glove compartments ranks third on the list And frequently cards are lost or stolen in restaurants and bars you forget your card or the waiter walter may hide it under a plate or napkin in hopes you will overlook it Or the waiter may return from the cashier with someone else's card which has outlived its usefulness and gamble that you wont won't notice the switch TWENTY PERCENT of related fraud losses are due to the issuance of cards as the result of false applications And another 20 percent of the losses are traceable to cards that were issued to but never received by legitimate applicants In this last case you need to know that it is not necessary for forthe forthe forthe the thief to have your card itself in order to Involve your good name in his schemes The thief may simply note your name and card number during the course of a credit card transaction or he may retrieve one of the carbons from a merchants merchant's trash can you do keep your carbons dont don't you TilE THE NEXT step is easy The thief studies public records to get what information he needs to complete an application in your name then he files an application for a duplicate card and indicates a change of address address ad ad- dress simultaneously The card with your name and number on onIt onit onit it is sent to the new address and you never know what's going on until you discover there is serious trouble with your account Stolen cards may be used to purchase merchandise for resale through a fence Sometimes the merchandise itself never changes hands A dishonest merchant reports the sale to the credit card company and collects then splits with the card thief Cards stolen by prostitutes and pickpockets may be used to purchase airline tickets which are then sold at a discount to travelers Some cards may be used to get a cash advance from a bank I EVEN WHEN WilEN the card Isn't stolen or forged you may still be taken Two sets of card slips can be Imprinted at the time of ofa a legitimate transaction You get one set the waiter walter or gas station attendant or clerk fills out the other set later forging your signature Or a cashier may simply raise the total on a credit card receipt receipt- changing to read for example Protect Yourself What can you do to protect yourself and prevent abuse of these useful credit tools Bealert Be De Bealert alert for these danger signals TilE THE USUAL monthly bill from the issuer does not arrive address changed by a defrauder perhaps a charge slip included with the bill indicates indicates in in- a total larger than that on your corresponding customers copy slip a charge slip does not correspond to any of your copies indicative of imprinting double at the point of sale the person behind you at the sales counter seems unusually interested in watching your credit card transaction as if to notice your name and card number a renewal card does not arrive several weeks before the expiration date of the current card you observe double double- imprinting by the cashier a awalter waiter walter or waitress misplaces the card Hang on to that card and at atthe atthe atthe the first sign of trouble notify the card company Its It's to your credit to be careful |