Credit Card Fraud Help
More than 176 million U.S. consumers were credit card holders as of 2008, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's "Survey of Consumer Payment Choice." Each person is at risk for credit card fraud because criminals constantly try to steal account numbers and personal information. Fraud victims can get help from several sources.
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Definition
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The term "credit card fraud" encompasses several criminal uses of credit cards and financial information. Thieves steal credit cards or account numbers or get a consumer's identification. They make fraudulent charges and open new accounts under the victim's identity, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Effects
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Credit card fraud is harmful to a consumer's finances and credit reports. Criminals charge as much as possible on stolen cards very quickly to maximize their take before the crime is discovered. They run up bills on fraudulent accounts they've opened and never make payments, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse warns. This leads to delinquencies on the victim's credit reports. Consumers also face declined transactions when their account limits are reached by thieves without their knowledge.
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Assistance
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Credit card companies have 24-hour toll-free telephone numbers so customers can report credit card fraud. They immediately close compromised accounts and issue new cards. The TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit bureaus also help fraud victims with cooperative reporting. This means one bureau will notify the other two when a consumer reports fraud, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse advises, and all will place a 90-day alert of their records. Consumers are entitled to free credit reports every year from annualcreditreport.com, but they can get no-cost reports at any time if they are fraud victims, even if they've already requested their yearly entitlement, according to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC.
Considerations
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Some local police departments are not willing to take credit card fraud reports. These reports are necessary to extend the initial 90-day credit bureau fraud alerts to seven years if a consumer wishes to do so. The FTC advises talking to the state police if the local police department does not help.
Warning
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Criminals sometimes use fake credit card fraud notifications to steal information, the Tyndall Federal Credit Union warns. They call consumers or send text or email messages claiming that their credit card accounts have been compromised. They claim the accounts are frozen and ask for numbers, expiration dates and verification codes to reinstate them. Do not give information to a caller or through an email message. Call the credit card issuer directly at the phone number on the statement or card to report the correspondence.
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