How to prevent credit card fraud

What is Credit Card Fraud?

Credit card fraud is when an individual gains unauthorized access to credit card information and uses the credit card fraudulently. A person may gain unauthorized access to this information in many different ways, including through hacking or through social engineering.

Credit card fraud can be committed by using a stolen physical card or by using a virtual credit card number that has been generated. Credit cards can be used for many things that are not associated with typical transactions, such as renting a car from an airport kiosk.

The statistics suggest that in 2016 alone, there were more than $16 billion worth of fraudulent transactions made by stealing credit cards and other related crimes.

In 2015, Visa reported that 454 million credit cards were compromised in transactions that year alone, up 10% from 2014. MasterCard reported an increase from 1,070 million to 1,630 million compromised cards over the same period.

The Three Types of Credit Card Fraud

There are three types of credit card fraud. The first type includes credit cards that have been lost or stolen but the owner has detected it in time and put a stop on the card before any transactions take place.

The second type includes credit cards charged for purchases that were not authorized by the owner of the account. This can happen when someone who has access to your credit card information, such as a family member, uses your account without your permission or you unknowingly give them this information.

The third type of credit card fraud includes instances where a criminal has falsely obtained someone's credit card number and then proceeds to use it to make unauthorized purchases.

How to Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud

Credit card fraud is something that we all need to be aware of, but there are also steps that we can take to protect ourselves from it. One way to avoid fraud is by using a credit card with chip and PIN, which will cut down on the chance of your cards being skimmed or compromised. To make sure that you don’t get an unauthorized charge on your account, it’s also important to monitor your account activity regularly. You should also limit how much time you spend on financial websites and apps when logged into another device or network, as this increases the chance of being hacked. If you do suspect unauthorized use of your credit card, contact your bank immediately.

We can also make sure we are always safe from credit card fraud by reading the tips below:

Be careful about what you purchase online

There are many things to consider when purchasing products online. If you are not careful, you could be putting your private information at risk and being scammed into buying a product you didn't want in the first place. There are ways to protect yourself from these risks such as verifying the authenticity of the site or asking for a receipt in order to return it if it is not what is advertised.

Do not share your credit card details with others

Do not share any credit card details with anyone that you do not know. Sharing this information can lead to identity theft and financial fraud.

Avoid clicking on suspicious links

in this digital day and age, we are constantly bombarded with opportunities to click on links. But what if that link is a virus? In order to avoid clicking on suspicious links, be sure to check the URL. A genuine website address will have "http://" in front of it. Furthermore, avoid clicking on any popup ads or pop-ups that have a green tick next to them as they

Make sure that you use an anti-virus program

There are a variety of programs that can help protect your computer from viruses.

Some programs such as Avast, AVG, and Malwarebytes offer antivirus protection that is free for home use. If you are looking for more advanced features such as parental control or identity protection, Norton and McAfee offer a suite of software at a monthly or yearly cost.

How to Report Credit Card Fraud if You Become a Victim and Avoid Having Your Identity Stolen

How to Report Credit Card Fraud if You Become a Victim

• Step 1: Contact your bank or credit card company as soon as possible.
• Step 2: Filling out the required form to file a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission.
• Step 3: Contact the three national credit bureaus to put them on notice of the identity theft and fraud.
• Step 4: Consider contacting your law enforcement agency for assistance in determining who may be responsible for committing this crime against you.

Steps to avoid identity theft after being the victim of credit card fraud:

1. Contact your bank and cancel your card.
2. Contact your credit card company and ask for a new account number, if possible.
3. Close any accounts that were accessed or tampered with as a result of the theft.
4. File a report with law enforcement if you’ve been the victim of fraud or identity theft to ensure they have the proper documentation should you be called upon to testify in court later on down the line

How VaocherApp can help businesses to protect reputation and revenue

In VaocherApp, you can select the payment provider that you trust and connect it to your VaocherApp account (see what payment providers are supported). That means we use your payment provider to accept payment for the gift vouchers you sell. Therefore, payment info such as credit card number, name, expiry and CVV code will never get to our servers. They will be sent and processed directly by the connected payment provider.

In most cases, your payment provider should have some sort of mechanism to recognize potentially fraudulent purchasing patterns and provides proactive tools to stop it before it starts. For instance, if you are using Stripe, they have a fraud detection tool/service called "Radar" (read more).

However, if you are involved in a dispute (also known as a chargeback, inquiry, or retrieval), occurs when a cardholder questions the payment with their card issuer, it's your responsibility to provide all of the necessary text and images you feel are appropriate to your payment provider. You can find all of these info in your VaocherApp order details page or contact us if you need help. We also recommend to reach out to your customer first to get more information about the reason for the inquiry or retrieval.