Imagine the following situations:

Someone rummages through your rubbish to find discarded receipts and then uses your account numbers illegally.

A shop keeper keeps a copy of your credit or debit card and then uses it to pay for other transactions.

A mailing asks you to call a long distance number to claim a free prize. You are told to provide your account number to sign up. You do so and are billed for transactions you never made.

Credit and charge card fraud is a huge industry costing consumers and card issuers hundreds of millions of pounds each year. It is a form of theft that is much more discrete than traditional robbery. While it is difficult to completely prevent card fraud from occurring, there are steps you can take to minimize your chances of becoming a victim.

Guard Against Fraud

Here are some tips you can take to help protect yourself from card fraud.

Do:

Sign the back of your cards as soon as they arrive. Carry your cards separately from your wallet.

Keep your account numbers, expiry dates and company phone numbers and addresses in a safe place.

Watch your card while it is out of your sight during a transaction and seek to get it back quickly.

Destroy incorrect receipts and all carbons.

Compare receipts with your monthly billing statements.

Open your bills and reconcile your account monthly.

Report suspicious activity or charges promptly and in writing to your card issuer.

Notify your card issuer in advance of a change of address.

Don’t:

Lend your card to anyone.

Leave your cards or your receipts lying around where others might find them.

Sign blank receipts. If there are blank spaces on a receipt, draw a line through them.

Write your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard.

Give your account number over the phone, unless you have made a call to a company you trust. If you have a question regarding a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office.

Report Losses and Fraud

If your card is stolen or lost, report this immediately to the issuer immediately. Many companies have free emergency numbers specifically for such calls. By law, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges once you have reported it. Calling quickly will reduce your liability for unauthorised charges, and will help the card issuer to catch the fraudster or block the transactions, making life harder for the crooks.

About the Author

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the UK credit card comparison site www.creditcards121.com
www.creditcards121.com/
www.creditcards121.com/, where you can find a selection of www.creditcards121.com/advice.htm
credit card advice that should help guide you through the credit card maze.

With Citibank being such a popular credit card issuer, many people are in demand for the new cards from this bank. In this article, we’ll be discussing the various new cards offered by Citibank. APRs and rewards will be discussed so you can decide which Citibank credit cards are right for you.

CitiGold AAdvantage World MasterCard – Wow! This card sure is a mouthful. But just as long as its name is its list of perks. This card comes with a 15.49% APR and a $50 annual fee. It features frequent flier miles with one given out for every dollar spent on the card. In addition, you can use these miles on worldwide hotels, car rental companies, OR airlines. This is a fitting card for the traveler with its $0 liability policy. This means that if your card falls into the wrong hands, you are not liable for the charges!

Citi Platinum Select Card – This card features a 0% introductory APR for up to 12 months. After that, the rate turns to 9.74%. This rate is variable. There are no annual fees, and the Citibank credit cards $0 liability policy.

Citi Driver’s Edge card – This card also has a 0% intro rate for up to 12 months. After that, the rate goes to a variable rate of 11.49%. This card offers rebates of up to 5% on purchases, which can be used towards leasing or purchasing a new vehicle!

This is a great card for someone trying to find the cash to balance a car and a rent payment.
About the Author

John Gibb manages www.credit-card-guides.net
www.credit-card-guides.net

An updated blog dedicated to educating people on credit cards.