Credit Card Advice

It has been a common refrain throughout the recent economic downturn: yet another criminal has been charged with credit card fraud or identity theft. An August 2009 case in the U.S. saw three men charged with stealing more than 130 million credit card and debit card numbers. The card numbers were stolen from Heartland Payment Systems, Hannaford Brothers, 7-Eleven and two other unidentified corporate victims.

While it is unlikely that very many Irish credit card numbers would have been stolen, it is not an impossibility. The stolen information is the information encoded on the back of the credit or debit card in the magnetic stripe, along with the expiration date. Still, consumers are asked to closely monitor their credit card statements online for any unauthorized charges. If you have been the victim of credit card fraud, you will be reimbursed the amount illegally charged to your card.

The method used to steal the credit card information was a sophisticated hacking technique that took advantage of holes in credit card issuers’ security. While there isn’t much you can do as a consumer to keep your credit card issuer from being the victim of a hacker attack, there are steps that all cardholders should take:

1. Report lost or stolen cards as soon as possible.
2. Sign new cards as soon as you receive them.
3. Cut up your old cards into small pieces when you receive a new one.
4. As much as possible, keep your card in sight when you make a transaction.
5. Monitor your credit card statements and inform your card issuer of any transactions you don’t recognize.
6. Never give out your PIN, even if a caller or an e-mailer claims they are from your card issuer.
7. Try not to be distracted if someone tries to gain your attention as you type in your PIN when using a cash machine.
8. Keep phone numbers of your card issuers handy in case your card is stolen.
9. Thoroughly shred key financial information that you are disposing of.

Credit card fraud is still increasing in Ireland, but it is increasing at a slower rate than it was before the “chip and PIN” system of using cards was widely implemented. In 2006, credit card fraud in Ireland accounted for €12 million in losses, and in 2007 it was €14 million. The latest increase is due to the prevalence of “card not present” fraud where card numbers are used over the phone or internet rather than the physical card being swiped.