The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.
The credit card business is one of the biggest industries in the world. As the plastic cards are now seen to be an essential part of human life, more and more companies have invested so much into this venture. The sad thing though is that credit cards have been used by criminals like identity thieves to take advantage of other people.
It is not a new fact hearing of someone paying for debts he never incurred himself but thieves. While the government is doing something to stop and regulate the crime, there still are a great number of the populations who suffer from credit card crimes.
The cost of credit card fraud sums up to three billion dollars each year worldwide. It is a very huge amount; an amount enjoyed by the criminals but an amount paid by innocent card holders.
There had been some software programs created to warn card holders of possible fraud but this is not seen by a lot as very effective. The World Wide Web is the easiest venue for credit card or identity thieves to consummate their crime so be very careful with the sites that you visit. Make sure that they are legitimate and never ever put in any personal information especially about your credit card details on websites whose legitimacy isn't proven yet.
When you receive emails or phone calls introducing themselves as your credit card issuer or their affiliate and are asking for some personal information about you, then NEVER give out anything or you'll only expose yourself to fraud.
When you travel and decided to make photocopies of your credit card in case they get lost, make sure that the part where important details are exposed should be blackened out. Information like our name and expiration date is simple information thieves can use against you. So be very careful.
During times when you needed to use a public or shared computer, always and always log out. Other people may access your email or other internet accounts and may find information they could use to commit a fraud. Just a simple habit of logging out can save you from credit card crimes.
It had never been a good feeling getting indebted for something you never used in the first place especially when you`re trying so hard to manage your spending and saving as much as you can. Getting very careless is like inviting thieves take advantage of you.
