Credit cards and debit cards have become the most popular
payment options for Canadians. Most people today prefer paying with
plastic to handing over cash and cheques. At the same time you
should be aware of the potential for credit card and debit card
fraud. How do these types of fraud work?Credit card fraud comes in two main forms. - Criminals can steal your actual card or obtain your credit card
number, often by phishing or vishing.
- They can also produce counterfeit cards and get credit cards
issued to them by making false applications using your
identity.
According to the RCMP, criminals target students, new Canadians
and people who have experienced credit problems by offering them
low-interest credit cards for a fee. People who pay the fee never
get a card and never see their money again. Debit card fraud occurs when a criminal obtains your debit card
information and Personal Identification Number (PIN). Without your
PIN the debit card is useless, so if your card is stolen or
duplicated the criminal must try to find out your PIN.
That’s why protecting your PIN is so important. - In one method, called “skimming,” consumers
have provided their debit card to make a payment, and the merchant
swipes the card through a hidden device to obtain the information
embedded in the magnetic stripe so that a duplicate of the card can
be made. At the same time, a camera records the consumer entering
their PIN.
- In another, the debit handset, where you input your PIN, is
“swapped out” with another that either records
the entered information so that the fraudster can steal it back
later and gain access to your accounts, or wirelessly transmits the
data to the fraudster, located nearby.
- Finally, ABMs have been tampered with to either record or
transmit the customer’s card details and PIN.
|
