What Are Types of Credit Card Fraud?

Credit card fraud is a real threat for merchants and consumers. As payment technology continues to advance through online, mobile and wireless processing capabilities, data theft and credit card fraud becomes more and more complex. The ability to understand and recognize common types of credit card fraud, as well as knowing how to prevent and respond to fraud, is crucial to protecting your business. As a credit card merchant, you need to know when or if your business is at risk, and you must communicate with your customers ways in which they can better protect themselves.

Below, find common types of credit card fraud, and learn how to reduce the risk.

Identify Theft

Through access to a consumer’s personal information, including account numbers, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers, a thief can assume that consumer’s identity. With that person’s name and information, the thief can open up new accounts, make charges on existing accounts, and even apply for a job or rent an apartment. Thieves can steal identities by rummaging desks and trash, making it important for consumers to lock up or shred documents that contain sensitive information. Identity theft can also occur through data breaches, so merchants are responsible for securing their credit card process.  

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams occur online, often through emails sent to consumers. The emails are usually designed and written to make it seem like they are sent from a trustworthy source, such as a friend, family member, bank, financial institution or social networking site. In the email, consumers are requested to provide account numbers, login info, passwords or other sensitive data. Links contained in the email may direct consumers to a fake website that actually routes the data to identity thieves. To help protect your customers, remind them not to provide their information to anyone via email. If they are unsure if the email is legitimate, they should contact the source directly.

Counterfeit Credit Cards

Counterfeiting involves creating a fake credit card using information taken from a real credit card. Merchants who process card-present transactions, such as retail or restaurant merchants, must be able to spot counterfeit credit cards in order to protect their customers. Know what to look for: Real credit cards have special features that are hard to replicate, such as certain colors, holograms and other details. Make sure your employees know how to recognize fake cards, as well.

Reduce the Risk with PCI Compliance

Compliance with PCI DSS standards is required for credit card merchants, and helps reduce the risk of data theft and credit card fraud. PCI security features from BluePay include tokenization and end-to-end encryption.

Contact BluePay today to learn more about credit card processing services and security solutions.