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Credit card fraudsters are having to up their game and are becoming ever more ingenious with the scams they try to pull off. As a UK credit cardholder you need to staying on your toes and ahead of the game. You need to ensure you keep up to date with all the different types of credit card scams that fraudsters might try on you. In this regard we are fairly lucky in the UK in that most UK credit card frauds have been tried previously elsewhere, notably the Unites States.
The following are some general tips to ensure that you do not fall foul of any fraudster:
Phishing Phonecalls
Never give your credit card number to anyone who phones you asking for these details unless you are certain that the call is a genuine call. Currently a number of fraudster are trying to get UK credit cardholders to give them vital information about their credit cards by ‘cold' calling and asking for these details on the pre-fix that a fraud has been carried out on the card. If you are in any doubt about the genuineness of a call, tell the caller you will phone them back and then independently check the number you need to call.
You Need My Personal Details?
Never respond to an email asking you for personal financial information. Always remember that banks and UK credit card providers will never solicit this information from you in an e-mail as they're fully aware of the dangers of phishing scam e-mails.
Phishing Emails
Never click on a link in an e-mail if you are not sure of the genuineness of the e-mail sender. More and more fraudsters are obtaining vital personal information about credit cardholders by persuading them to click on e-mail links and complete bogus online forms.
Dispose Your Statemenst Carefully
Never throw your card statement away in the rubbish bin. It may be hard to believe, but it is known that credit card fraudsters are not adverse to checking through people's rubbish to see if they have thrown away vital financial information that can be used to defraud them. If you really want to dispose of old credit card statements, then make sure you put these through a shredder at the office.
Take Command of the Situation
Never leave your credit card unattended. Today all credit card transactions can be completed via the Chip and PIN. There is no reason whatsoever why you should ever have to let your credit card out of your sight. If the salesman tells you then need to check something, tell them they have to do this in front of you.
Combating credit card fraud is the responsibility of every credit card user in the UK. If we can help to reduce the cost to UK credit card providers for losses arising from fraud the savings should trickle down to us as credit card users. More importantly, however, is if the UK credit card user can show that you did not act in a way that would have reduced the chances of your having been defrauded, then they may be able to hold you accountable for some of the loss incurred as a result of that behavior. So always remain vigilant and aware of any scam that UK credit card fraudsters may try on you.