Credit Card Fraud: Xnumx Ways to Cheat

Fraud and data leaks can cost victims huge amounts of money, warns Fox News.

Here's what you need to know about the five threats that you and your card accounts face.

1. Skimmer

Skimmers are installed on ordinary nests for krat. At first glance, the card reader looks ordinary, but in fact it gives access to your card to scammers.

Most often, skimmers are installed on gas stations and ATMs. And it is extremely difficult to notice them - many skimmers are very small and well camouflaged.

How to avoid these insidious devices? - Pay the cashier at the gas station. When choosing an ATM, try to stick to your bank's machines, not generic devices.

2. Retail Fraud

Unfortunately, payment at the checkout does not exclude the possibility of fraud on the part of the seller. Credit card skimmers or skimming software can be easily connected to the terminal.

One of the most effective anti-fraud methods is the EVP chip on the card. Not every card has such a chip, but where they do, extracting data is much more difficult. Most skimmers scan the magnetic stripe to extract data, they cannot scan a chip card.

Another way is to pay in cash.

3. Khaki in popular places

Fast food restaurants are often targeted by hackers because of the sheer amount of money.

Cash is the safest way to avoid fraud. But if you often eat out and pay by credit card, it makes sense to set a low online payment limit on your card. Then the scammers won't be able to steal much, even if they get access to the data.

4. Fear Free Wi-Fi

When traveling, Wi-Fi is a holy cause. In a hotel or cafe, Wi-Fi is often free. This, of course, is pleasant, but not safe.

The fact is that free Wi-Fi has big security problems. Network owners can easily track your activity, and hackers can easily access your devices and data on them.

If you can't live without the internet, it's worth masking your online activity with a VPN to hide your identity and protect the data on your devices.

5. Emails

Phishing is the most popular type of scam. And this is logical, because it is the simplest. By clicking on the link, you yourself invite a hacker to your computer.

Most often, phishing messages come by email or social networks. Sometimes messages look like official government forms or corporate communications.

Regardless of what the message or website says, never enter personal information online unless you are sure the website is official. You can usually find this out by looking at the address bar. If the URL is long, complex, and doesn't contain the familiar ".com" you know and love, it's fake.