Credit Card Shaving

04:47:06 AM Monday, April 14, 2008

Credit Card Shaving - Invisible Crime Requires No Theft!

In general, most US cardholders are aware of identity theft dangers. The peculiarity of this crime is that you can hardly notice that you've become a victim. But still there are some safety measures that can be used, like fraud alerts for instance. Sometimes, people can meet face to face with something they cannot explain. If your credit cards are in your wallet, and your personal information is not stolen, but there are some credit transactions you didn't make, the evidence is great that you have become a victim of credit card shaving. Learn more about this crime and what can be done about it!

Credit card shaving sounds really weird. And it's worth mentioning that this crime is really something new in the world of credit scams. That's how it works. Scammers do not need your bank card, or personal information, your mail receipts and more.

They try out the combination of numbers to search for the series of credit card numbers that will fit someone's plastic number. And unfortunately, they managed to find the right combination. They also grab a heap of gift cards that can be easily found in groceries and create new cards by shaving off the old numbers and gluing the numbers in the consequence they need.

Police officers point out the fact that victims generally have no idea about it. Meantime, invisible credit scammers charge more and more dollars on the card of someone who's unaware about it. The big question is, what can we do to protect ourselves from this crime?

The only possible way out is to keep an eye of credit card transactions. It really helps and you can avoid paying thousands of dollars for the items you've never bought. However, sometimes the prudence of retail workers may stop credit shavers. Plastics with glued credit numbers look really suspicious.

Credit shavers happen to alter only four digit number. As for the first twelve ones, they are the same on many cards. The thing is these twelve digits serve as an identification code of some bank. With the help of a razor blade, they shave off the last digit numbers and apply new numbers with superglue. It sounds like childish antics, but in fact it's an extremely dangerous credit scam.

This way, if you happen to notice some unfamiliar charges on your card statement, you should act immediately. First off, call your credit customer service and explain your reason for this concern. Typically, credit issuers are responsive when it comes to credit card fraud. So, you may count on their assistance. Besides, it's necessary to lodge a statement with police.

Though it is really difficult to catch ID thieves, it is quite possible and the cases are not rare when criminals get their comeuppance. Your wariness and prudence can be the best weapon against credit card scams like credit shaving. Do not hesitate to check out your credit card statements. Unfortunately, there are a lot of criminals who want to spend your hard-earned money.

I am appalled! Hope, card issuers will invent something to protect cardholders.