Well for starters, don’t use your credit card online, don’t give it to people in a drive thru if they walk away with it, they could write down your info. It’s just when someone either steals your identity to order things or steals your identity, such as a SS # in order to pretend they are you by applying for credit.

Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also an adjunct to identity theft.

Ten Tips to Prevent Credit Card Fraud

1. Keep a list of your credit card numbers, expiration dates, and the phone numbers of all card issuers in a safe place.

2. Credit card issuers offer a variety of terms (annual percentage rates, methods of calculating balances subject to finance charges, minimum monthly payments, and actual membership fees). When selecting a card, compare the terms offered by several card companies to find the card that suits your needs.

3. When you use your credit card, watch your card after giving it to a clerk. Take your card back promptly after the clerk is finished and make sure the card is yours.

4. Never sign a blank receipt. Draw a line through any blank spaces above the total when you sign receipts. Tear up the carbons when you take your credit card receipt.

5. Open credit card bills promptly and compare them with your receipts to check for unauthorized charges and billing errors.

6. Write card issuers promptly to report any questionable charges. Written inquires should not be included with your payment. Instead, check the billing statement for the correct address for billing questions. The inquiry must be in writing and must be sent within 60 days to guarantee your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

7. Avoid giving your credit card number over the telephone unless you know the company is trustworthy. Never write your card number on a post card or on the outside of an envelope.

8. Sign new cards as soon as they arrive. Destroy expired cards. Cut up and return unwanted cards to the issuer.

9. If one of your credit cards is missing or stolen, report the loss as soon as possible to the card issuer. Check your credit card statement for a telephone number to report the stolen card. Follow up your phone call with a letter to the card issuer. The letter should contain your card number, the date the card was missing, and the date you reported the loss.

10. If you report the loss before a credit card is used, the issuer cannot hold you responsible for any subsequent unauthorized charges. If a thief uses your card before you report it missing, the most you will owe for unauthorized charges on each card is $50.

Credit card fraud is when someone illegally uses someone elses card to make purchases. As a consumer you shouldn’t worry about it. All card companies can look up the transactions and see if it is fruadulant or not. If it is you get the money back. I did some google research one time and discovered that card fruad is very, very, very rare. It’s more likely for a senior citizen to catch aids then a card holder have fruad commited that isn’t reimbursed. Card companies want you to take it vary seriously, because they have to fit the bill. As consumers it shouldn’t be something you worry about. Look up the stats.