Credit card fraud is a worldwide problem, and the poor economy has made it even more of a problem. It is vital that you protect yourself from credit card fraud, and there are a number of steps you can take to do so.

First and foremost, only keep the best credit cards. If you have two or more credit cards that are costing you too much in interest – close them down!

So, assuming you’ve got rid of your excess credit cards, what do you do about the ones you still carry around? Several things. For one, if it’s just a quick trip to the market for milk, leave your credit card at home. That way you don’t risk dropping it, or losing it. If you’re like most people, though, carrying your credit cards is a way of avoiding having to carry around large sums of cash, and that is a good thing. If someone takes several hundred euros cash from you, you really have no recourse. But if someone takes several hundred euros in the form of a credit card, your losses are limited.

Here are a few ways to avoid credit card fraud.

• If anyone calls you or e-mails you saying they are your bank and they need your credit card details for some reason that might sound perfectly legitimate, do not provide any of that information. Instead, call or e-mail your bank directly and ask if they contacted you wanting account details. Most will never call you asking for such information, so that you know that an e-mail or call asking for your credit card details is deceptive and dangerous.
• Do you ever play those games online where you have a formula for creating your “pirate name,” or your “stripper name”? Often they’ll say you use your mother’s maiden name for part of it, and then the name of your street for part of it, and maybe your pet’s name for part of it. It sounds innocent enough, except that these are the exact details you use online or over the phone to establish your identity, and if those details get into the hands of someone stealing your identity, they can do a lot more damage.
• Report any suspected credit card fraud immediately. If you report it within 24 hours, you usually won’t be held responsible for anything charged on the cards. But if you wait you may be out a certain amount, say €50, which isn’t that much when someone’s rung up thousands of euros worth of charges, but it’s still €50 that you’d like to keep if you can.

Choosing a credit card in Ireland, like anywhere else, involves taking into account what you want the credit card for and what kind of credit you have. Obviously, if you have good or excellent credit, you’ll have more choices and better interest rates. But with so many cards out there to choose from it can be confusing to know where to begin. Three types of credit cards you can choose from are “rewards” cards, so-called 0% cards, and balance transfer credit cards.

Rewards cards allow you to earn “points” or credits toward some goal when you use your credit card to make purchases. Maybe you’ll get discounts, or points to use toward purchases. Sometimes the “reward” is cash back.

0% credit cards vary. There are the 0% balance transfer cards that let you transfer a debt from another card. There are 0% cards that allows you to make purchases on which you won’t pay any interest until the introductory rate is over. That period may be a couple of months or a whole year.

Balance transfer cards may or may not have a 0% introductory “teaser” rate. Often they do have a low introductory rate for a set period from the time you open your card. It is important to know that the clock on the introductory rate begins when you open your account, not when you transfer your balances. If you wait to transfer balances, you’ll have a much shorter period in which you’ll benefit from the low rate.

Some people simply opt for the card with the lowest interest rate they can get. “No annual fee” cards are very common now, and you shouldn’t have to trade off a low interest rate at the expense of a high annual fee. There are plenty of no annual fee cards that carry relatively low interest rates. Often, in the long term, choosing the card with the lowest interest rate – particularly if there is no annual fee – is the best strategy. Assuming you make payments on time and don’t incur fees for going over your credit limit or for other reasons, you should be able to keep that relatively low interest rate. And if they try to raise it on you for no good reason, you can probably shop around and find another card that will offer you a low interest rate. Low interest rate cards may not have the cachet that points or rewards cards do, but when it comes to keeping credit card expenses under control, it’s almost always the best way to go.

If you’re like most Americans, you have a huge cloud of debt hovering overhead; and most of that debt comes from credit cards. Credit card companies make it so easy to sign up for them. Sometimes you get a zero percent interest rate (at least at first) and sometimes you get a free hat, T-shirt or some other free gift. It’s only after the card arrives that most people go crazy with them.

They buy high end television sets, expensive vacation and order loads of things online. They figure they’ll just pay it back later. The problem comes when the interest rates jump after the introductory offer expires and that’s when people find they can no longer afford to pay the balances they’ve racked up over time. It may be time to consolidate those credit cards so that you can more easily pay them off. The following are some tips for effective credit card consolidation so you can get yourself out of this mess.

Consolidation
Credit card consolidation refers to the practice of taking your current cards and transferring them to another card. There are several reasons for doing this. For one, you can often take advantage of a new card’s introductory offer, which is usually a very affordable interest rate. Sometimes, there’s even a zero percent interest rate; at least for a while. This allows you to pay off your new balance with no interest.

The second reason why you want to consolidate is that you will be paying off your current cards. This will positively affect your credit. When you pay off your credit cards by transferring them to a new card, it’s recommended that you cut them up. There’s no use in consolidating your credit cards if you’re just going to charge more money and tack on more interest to your already overwhelming debt.
The third reason you want to consolidate is that you’ll only have one bill to pay off. Instead of paying on three to five cards, or however many you have, you only have to pay off the one card. It’s easier to manage and it’s amazing how consolidation can take a huge weight off your shoulders; especially if you’re getting inundated with phone calls by the credit card companies demanding payment.

Finding a Card
Before you consolidate your cards onto another one, you have to find the best deal. As stated, you’ll want to find a card that offers a very low interest rate, or even a no interest rate special. Really do your homework and never settle on just any card. Soon you’ll find one that’s perfect card for consolidation.
When you consolidate credit cards, and you only have one balance to pay off, pay off as much as you can each month so you can whittle that debt down as quickly as possibly before your introductory interest rate offer expires. As long as you’re picky about the card you choose for consolidation and you make a promise never to get in over your head again, you’ll be able to consolidate your cards and finally pay off that debt that’s been hanging over your head for so long.

Ireland is the only country that has a credit card stamp duty. A stamp duty is a tax the government imposes on certain legal documents. The word “stamp” is a holdover from the days when an actual physical stamp was attached to a document to prove that the duty had been paid. The stamp duty on Irish credit cards and charge cards is for €30 per year per account. Charge cards are like credit cards except there is no interest because you pay it off at the end of the month.

It is important to note that multiple cards attached to one account, such as an account where both spouses have a copy of the credit card, only one stamp duty is imposed. If you transfer a credit card account from one issuer to another, you can avoid paying the stamp duty again as long as you close the old account and have documentation from the account you’re closing saying so.

In 2007, Ireland had more than 2.3 million credit cards in circulation, more than double what it was in 1997. Even if only a quarter of those were attached to unique accounts, it would add up to over €20 million in credit card stamp duty income per year.

There is also a stamp duty levied on debit laser cards and ATM cards. For these cards, the tax is €10 on every ATM card or debit laser card, or €20 annually on every combined Laser/ATM card.However, with debit laser cards and ATM cards the duty is affixed on every card rather than every account.

While you may balk at having to prove that you’ve already paid the credit card stamp duty once in a year if you’ve switched cards, or if you think that it’s too much trouble to bother with, consider what would happen if 100,000 Irish citizens didn’t bother. The Irish government would get an extra €30 million in a year for no good reason.

Same thing with the duties on ATM and debit laser cards. If nobody bothered disputing the stamp duty if they switched cards after having paid the tax for the year, the government would rake in an extra €10 million. There’s no sense in trying to get out of paying the stamp duty, but at the same time there’s no reason for you to pay it twice in a year if you don’t have to.

Depending how you interpret the word “design,” you can pick a “best” in many ways. If you’re looking for a credit card that looks nice, then there are credit card issuers like Capital One whose platinum MasterCards can be personalized in many different ways. However, if you get a credit card with the lowest interest rate that does not have a “smart chip” as some European Visa cards do, you can personalize your card in an almost infinite number of ways with credit card skins.

Think of credit card skins like the “skins” that people choose to dress up their iPod. It’s like a wardrobe of tiny clothing that won’t keep your card from working like it’s supposed to (unless you have a “smart chip” Visa). Credit card skins are basically super thin stickers that you apply to the front of your card with a hole over where your name, card number, and expiration date go.

There are websites where you can choose from a dizzying array of credit card skins with every kind of graphic or message you can imagine, from gay pride to preppy Argyle designs. Creditcovers.com has hundreds of designs to choose from and an opportunity to make your own design and make royalties from it if it sells.

Businesses can order custom credit card skins as unique and fun promotional giveaways. You can also make your own graphic credit card skins using a template in Adobe PhotoShop or a similar graphics program using t-shirt transfer paper and a color inkjet printer. Once you have the design the right size and the right shape (with the hole for your name, card number, and expiration date, print it out onto t-shirt transfer paper then cut the design out with scissors. You then put spray mount on the card, peel the backing from the transfer paper and place the design on the card. Put the ironing paper that comes with the t-shirt transfer paper over the card on an ironing board or reasonable facsimile. Preheat iron to “low.” Iron the card for 15 seconds. Check if the design adheres. If not, iron for 15 more seconds. But be careful, lest you melt your credit card with too much heat. Let cool. After the card has cooled cut away excess transfer paper with a mat knife.

Sometimes the best design for a credit card is the one that brings you the lowest interest rate. Once you have that, if it isn’t beautiful enough for you, then skins are the way to personalize your card into a statement about yourself.

Feel you have far too much credit card debt?  You are far from alone.  In 2009 credit card debt was at an amazing £53 billion!  With so much debt happening, and the credit crunch still biting, no matter what experts say about recovery, it is no wonder people are starting to feel the pinch.

So how can you help control your own debt, what simple methods are there to reduce credit card debt?

Simple Ways to Reduce Credit Card Debt

Now there are complex legal methods that might help you reduce your debt such as debt consolidation, debt management and IVA, but that is for the experts – what we are looking at here is simple methods of reducing the debt, little things you can incorporate into your everyday life.

• Move cards.  One of the biggest problems with credit card debt is interest.  Find a new card that allows 0% on balance transfers and you could save yourself a lot of money if you consolidate debts.  Remember to cancel the old card though – you don’t want to build up more debt.
• Pay off cards.  Sounds obvious but the interest is a problem, your debt keeps increasing.  So if you have the money in the bank pay off your cards, don’t just sit there letting your debt build.  Certainly try pay off more than the minimum monthly payment.
• Leave the credit card at home.  Stop building up debt on your card by only taking cash out shopping with you – that way you control exactly how much you spend and can’t go over it.
• Cut out the little things.  Do you realise how much you spend on little things – things like a morning starbucks or buying lunch?  A coffee, a sandwich and a pack of crisps can easily add up to £5 – that s £5 a day, £150 a month, that can go to paying off your debt.

By following just a few simple steps every day, you will start to see that credit card balance shrink!

Credit Card Theft is a funny thing.  Just possessing stolen credit card can still be enough to get somebody in trouble.  It used to be that a person had to commit an actual larceny to be convicted of a crime.  With the Internet, the use of credit cards online, and identity theft, credit card theft is now often covered under a more general crime of identify theft.

Consumers are protected by consumers’ protection acts that limit how much they are on the hook if somebody steals their credit card.  Somebody still has to pay for all that fraud.  The Bank where you apply for a credit card is usually responsible for the bad debt or fraudulent purchases. In the US, The Department of Homeland Security reports that credit card fraud could be as much as $500 million dollars a year.  Credit card fraud in the UK was estimated to be 535 million pounds in 2006.

In the US, understanding the difference between felony and misdemeanour is easiest explained by the time spent in jail.  Generally, if you do something so bad that you end up in jail more than a year, you must have committed a felony.  Everything else are called misdemeanours.  Crossing the line to a felony means losing rights even after the felon puts time in behind bars.  Felons often face restrictions when travelling abroad, and lose the right to run for public office or carry firearms.  Countries that do not use this distinction use some other form of categorization.  In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, crimes are categorized as summary offences and indictable offences.

In the US, both federal and state law determines what can happen to a person who commits credit card theft. Federally, credit card theft falls under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act in 1998.  Offenses under this law can carry up to thirty years in prison (definitely a felony). In order to be charged federally, the crime has to meet certain requirements.  Two examples are crossing state lines or mailed through the US postal service.

State law varies regarding how credit card theft is handled.  Usually the following information is used in determining if state law will charge the person with a misdemeanour or a felony:

• How much did he or she charge with the stolen credit card?  In many states in the US, if the amount is over $300, the charge crosses from being a misdemeanour to being a felony.
• What kind of criminal record, if any, did the person have before committing credit card fraud?  In some states, the charge for the first time somebody commits credit card fraud is a misdemeanour.  The second time they do it, they receive a felony charge.

Besides getting incarcerated, people found guilty of credit card fraud will usually have to pay fines and may be required to do community service after they serve their time.

There’s nothing unique about Irish credit card debt compared to credit card debt elsewhere in the world. It is true that Ireland has suffered more than other countries in the worldwide recession, but even with a new economic reality, getting rid of Irish credit card debt is similar to getting rid of any other debt: it is a matter of commitment and hard work.

Most people, particularly if they travel, cannot do without a credit card. They can, however, do without eight or nine credit cards. Most money experts suggest having two credit cards, both of which provide a backstop in times of trouble. For those with multiple credit cards, there are several options for paying off your debt.

One option is transferring debt onto a new credit card with a low introductory interest rate and putting all your effort into paying that debt off before the “teaser” interest rate expires. It sounds like a great idea in principle, but if you can’t pay off €4,000 indefinitely with 14.9% interest, it isn’t that much more likely you’ll be able to pay it off in the 10 months or so that you have the low rate on the new card.

There are two approaches to paying off credit card debt. One is to pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. It makes sense that you’d want to pay off your most expensive debt before paying off your cheaper debt. If you choose to do this, and the card with the high rate has a big balance, you can certainly do it, but it will take serious discipline. If you can look at your statements online and watch as the balance falls, however, you can really draw motivation from that to keep working on the debt.

Another technique for paying off credit card debt is the “snowball” technique. That means you pay off your smallest debt first, then close the account, on the theory that you’ll be really chuffed at having got rid of an entire card’s worth of debt. Repeat with the new smallest debt, etc.

Either technique will work, and there is discipline involved in both. Which method you choose depends on your particular personality and what motivates you.

Consolidating loans may sound like a great way to get out of debt, but human nature being what it is, the sense of relief causes a lot of people to run up a whole new cycle of debt. In other words, borrowing your way out of debt is usually counterproductive.

Here are ten day trips you can experience in Ireland without spending a lot of money.

1. Fota Gardens and Wildlife Park, Cork. Visiting the wildlife park costs €13.50 for adults, €9.00 for U16 students, senior citizens and the disabled. A family ticket for two adults and up to four children is €56.00. Mornings and evenings you can watch wardens feeding the animals. You can also partake of Arts and Crafts, and special musical programs.
2. Mountain View Stables, Poulnagun Lisdoonvarna. A three hour horseback tour takes in view of the Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, and Galway Bay. Beginners are welcome as are advanced riders.
3. Glenveagh National Park and Castle, Donegal.The staff are all local, and have been rated as friendly and helpful. Even the food in the small coffee shop gets rave reviews. The park includes the two highest mountains in Donegal, Errigal and Slieve Sneacht.
4. Muckross House and Gardens, Killarney. At €5.75 per adult, this is hailed as one of the best values for a day out. The mansion and gardens are spectacular. A 90 minute hike features animals, farms, and a blacksmith.
5. The 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour, Dublin, costs €12 and those who have participated say its guides are extremely knowledgeable and give the history of the 1916 Rebellion in such a way that the two hour tour seems to fly by.
6. National Botanic Gardens, Dublin is free. If you ride a bus to get there, it costs €1.50, and you have to have exact change. The National Botanic Gardens have received great reviews from plant lovers to families wanting a place to picnic.
7. The Milk Market, Limerick.This is an outdoor flea market where you can find a huge range of items for sale (but not milk). Fresh food on offer is anything from artisanal cheese to crepes to cherries.
8. The Lough Gill Drive, Sligo. This drive is said to be so captivating it has caused people to uproot and move here. It is very unspoiled and un-touristy.
9. Jack Meade’s Pub, Waterford. Jack Meade’s is more a place for a night out than a day out, but it comes highly recommended for its food, drinks (even fancy coffee drinks) and atmosphere. It is described as the Ireland you always imagined.
10. Cloghereen Blue Pool Walk, Killarney. This is a nature reserve with marked footpaths plus some unmarked paths that stray slightly. It’s a long, but easy walk to see the blue pool. This is one of those often overlooked, yet beautiful place you’re glad you found.

During the boom days when everyone assumed that housing prices would continue to rise ad infinitum, Ireland was wedded to their credit cards. There was always more credit on tap. Buying and selling property was the kind of thing you would feel left out if you weren’t doing. The consumer’s mindset was largely “Buy now, pay later,” and unfortunately, the “Rip Off Ireland” concept was largely tolerated by consumers. But something happened on the way to the credit crunch. Even before banks cut off questionable lending, people started to realize that accumulating debt was ultimately not going to be offset by a continued boom in property prices.

By the time the credit crunch hit in 2008, many consumers worldwide were already going on the assumption that all the financial candy they’d been eating the past few years was going to result in several years of biliousness. Ireland was no exception. Thrift quickly became the new standard.

To that end, consumers are paying much more attention to the terms of service of their credit cards, canceling those with the worst terms and transferring balances to cards with lower interest rates or better perks. If you do carry a credit card with a balance, you can probably find a better deal if you do some searching. Here are a few things to look for when looking for better credit card deals in Ireland.

Perhaps the the change that would make the biggest difference would be a lower interest rate overall, not just a low or 0% introductory rate. Unless you plan to pay off your entire balance quickly, low “teaser” rates are likely to rebound back to where your rates were before – or worse.

That said, if you have the means to pay off your credit card balance, you might consider getting a card with a low or 0% teaser rate on balance transfers. The longer that rate holds, the better. It isn’t as easy now to find cards with teaser rates that last for a year, but six months is still fairly easy to find. But if you know you’ll eventually be carrying a balance again, then overall interest rate is the most important characteristic you should look for in a card.

Rebates in the form of gasoline, airline miles or some sort of points reward scheme are quite appealing when money is tight. But again: if you carry a balance, interest rates will undoubtedly dwarf any perks or savings you might receive from a rebate card.

With a new attitude toward thrift, Irish credit card holders are more accepting of the idea that enticing financial offers from credit card companies often come at a very dear price.