The fraud department representative said he sees at least one a day, and it has become a bigger problem over the last few years. It can happen to anyone at anytime using an ATM debit card or major credit card. It could happen to you and you wouldn’t even know it until the strange charges start hitting your account or until the bank fraud department calls checking on some charges that seem suspicious.

It’s called card skimming and it’s becoming more popular among thieves. Credit card skimming is a growing problem as technology increases. Skimmers record the information held in your magnetic strip: card holders name, credit card number, expiration date and pin number. The only thing not included is the three-digit security code on the back of your card, but the representative told me that they can generate those codes on a computer.

What often happens, according to the fraud department representative is that when you use your card at a restaurant, gas station or anywhere that takes cards or has a swipe machine. Several things are possible: one someone is working as a waiter/waitress and takes your card scans your order but then takes a scan for themselves with a tiny hand held skimmer bought online and unknown to the restaurant. It is not illegal to buy these tiny credit card scanners online but in some states it is illegal to have them. It is easy for a dishonest person to hide these skimmers in any pocket or bag. Online one of the scanners was so small it could easily be hidden in the palm of your hand, purchased for under- three hundred dollars and can hold 2000-3000 credit card swipes.

The other and perhaps more scary option is that the thief implants a chip inside older credit card machines, it is not yet possible for them to do it in some of the newer machines. Then, unknown to the place of business they copy a few days worth of credit card numbers as people happily swipe away at gas pumps, or even some ATM machines. After a few days the thief removes the chip and then has lots of credit card numbers to sell online in chat rooms for thieves who make credit cards or it is possible for them to do it themselves.

You may wonder what you can do to protect yourself from this but as long as you use credit and debit cards it’s just a matter of luck. The fraud representative said there is really nothing you can do to prevent this from happening, but you should be able to count on your bank to notice suspicious charges and contact you to check on them. You also always want to keep a close eye on your accounts for any strange transactions. You should know with a credit card you are only liable for $50.00. With a debit card this gets more complicated. Our bank said it takes 7-10 business days to refund the money owed to customers after an affidavit is signed stating that the charges are fraudulent. So if the thief stole more money than you can afford you could just keep accumulating overdraft charges which the bank states will be refunded at the same time as the fraudulent charges. In the end it is businesses that end up having to eat the cost of any illegitimate charges that occur. In the US this is a billion dollar a year problem.

There are a few things you can do. You can trust your instincts and be observant. In some cases this will help you. According to Naples News, one woman noticed, “that the slot on the bank machine looked like it had been spray painted so she called police.” The thieves had place a painted skimmer over the original bank machine slot.

If you find that your credit card information is stolen immediately cancel your credit card or debit card. If you have any strange charges you will have to sign an affidavit at your bank stating that you didn’t make these charges. The charges will go through and after the investigation they will credit them back and any fees associated with the fraudulent charges. You may want to file a police report by contacting your local police department. You may also want to place a temporary alert on your credit through the three big credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. After placing a temporary alert on your credit it could cause difficulties such as: such as: Timely approval for a new loan, credit, insurance, mortgage, rental housing, investments, license, cell phone, extension of credit at a retail store, and applications for credit insurance, employment, using an internet credit card.

Check your credit report to ensure that no one has opened any new accounts in your name. The fraud representative said that when a credit card is skimmed in his opinion it’s almost never identity theft too. It would still be wise to check with the credit bureaus.

Information for side bar:

Credit Bureaus:

Experian

Experian:

Click on Contact Us at the top of the screen; scroll down for the fraud department.

www.experian.com

Phone (option 4 for security a freeze).

1- 888- 397- 3742

Address for a security freeze on your credit:

Experian

PO Box 9554

Allen, TX

75013

Equifax

http://www.equifax.com/

Phone:

1-888-766-0008

Mailing Address:

Equifax Credit Information
Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA30374

Place one online at:

https://www.alerts.equifax.com/AutoFraud_Online/jsp/fraudAlert.jsp

Trans Union

http://www.transunion.com/

Address and phone number for fraud report or to remove:

TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA92834

1-800-680-7289