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2007
Credit card scam hits New Zealand
Monday February 18, 2008
A credit card scam has been identified in New Zealand with fraudsters making unauthorised withdrawals at automatic teller machines using what are being called dummy credit cards.
How the scam work
When you purchase a product at a store with your credit card it is important for you to maintain eye contact with your credit card.
A worker who is going to help their accomplices defraud your credit card account will swipe your card through a machine to capture your credit card details from the magnetic strip on the back of your credit card.
This credit card scam is called skimming and it enables the fraudsters to then create a "duplicate" or "dummy" credit card with a magnetic strip that contains your credit card account details.
When creating a "duplicate" or "dummy" credit card, the fraudsters can give themselves their very own pin number to access your credit card funds, or even your savings and cheque accounts if you have access to them via your credit card.
Now in the case of what is happening in New Zealand, according to media reports, an international crime syndicate is involved paying Kiwis a fee for withdrawing cash from automatic teller machines across Auckland.
Paying Attention to your Credit Card
This is a good reminder to credit card users that you should always pay attention to what is happening with your credit card when in a store making a purchase.
Asking the staff member to leave your credit card on the counter while they "go to do something" to process your transaction will if nothing else, make them suspicious that you have acknowledged something isn't quite right.
This can be a very simple and effective way in helping you avoid becoming the victim of fraud.
Don't be blas with your credit card. While banks are generally very good when it comes to reimbursing you for any losses on your account/s due to fraud, it can prove to be a very inconvenient experience making a trip to the bank to sign paperwork, be interviewed, and then wait for the bank to "process" the paperwork and reorder new credit cards for you to use again.
