Card-Present Fraud
Ever get a call from your credit card company asking if you bought something like water skis in Kansas for $500 recently? If so, you are not alone, as someone probably stole your credit card information and created a fake card using your name.
Card-present fraud means a thief purchased something in person, but despite all efforts to prevent it, the card was either stolen or fake. You would think it would be easier to prevent card-present fraud than card-not-present fraud, but...it still happens.
Several steps can be taken by the merchant to try and avoid being ripped off. First, he or she should look for a holographic image, or holographic magnetic strip. One can also ask for identification if things look suspicious. Sometimes, the magnetic strip isn't readable, which is a major clue that something's rotten in the state of Denmark.
If someone is buying and selling a lot of stuff and doesn’t seem to care about the price, that’s another tip-off. And if you can keep a secret, credit card companies use different numbers to start every customer account number. For MasterCard, account numbers begin with a 5, Discover 6, American Express 34 or 37, and Visa 4. Also, the last four numbers of an account are also placed somewhere else on the card.
The use of card-present transactions has gotten a lot safer for merchants since the use of microchip technology (EMV). So far, they have made it nearly impossible for thieves to use a card fraudulently, but thieves will most likely find a way.
But in card-present fraud, it’s the credit card company left holding the bag, not the consumer or the merchant.
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Finance: What are Phishing Scams?8 Views
Finance a la shmoop what are phishing scams? all right you know when you're out [Woman on fishing boat with Dad]
on the lake with dad just the two of you trying to haul in some trout when one of
the fish pulls a fast one on you and hangs one of these things on your line [Fishing line with boot attached]
yeah total scam we're telling you you cannot trust anything that breathes
through the side of its face anymore these days really okay so that's a not
quite a phishing scam although the general idea is similar it's someone
trying to make you believe something that isn't exactly true with a phishing
scam the venue switches from the great outdoors to cyberspace never gotten an [A wooden hut appears]
email from a Nigerian prince who's temporarily down on his luck and if
you'll just wire him three hundred bucks in cash immediately well immeasurable
riches await you it sounds like a little good to be true there right yeah and it [Man gives thumbs up in room]
is well usually that Nigerian prince is an overweight balding guy named Jerry
living in his mom's basement in a suburb just outside of Cleveland he'd love
nothing more than to hook a sucker you and take that 300 bucks [Jerry on his computer]
off your hands but many times the scam is much more intricate than that often
its identity thieves who are trying to con you into releasing private
information such as your social security number or credit card information mm-hmm
that's out there well they might try to convince you that
their Amazon support or your bank or your long-lost uncle Yusuf who just [Person flicking through e-mails]
needs a few personal details before he can FedEx you your large inheritance
don't fall for any of it anytime you're randomly asked to divulge any sensitive
information or pop a wad of cash in an envelope stop for a second and ask
yourself whatever you might be well a fish and then ask yourself whether you'd [Cash burning]
like all your hard-earned money to be sauteed or flame-broiled good stuff...
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