| Credit card skimming is an international problem | | | | onset of new credit card terminals, this has alleviated |
| accounting for losses of over one-billion dollars a year. | | | | much of this bugging. |
| This type of credit card scam is common in Europe, | | | | As soon as the crooks have their needed information |
| Asia and Latin America and is starting to show up | | | | on you, they will start their shopping sprees using your |
| more in the United States. | | | | credit card number. They purchase all types of |
| This scam is easy to run - it can happen when you | | | | merchandise and charge it to your credit card. Over |
| give your credit card to a store employee to make a | | | | half of credit card fraud is done over the internet with |
| purchase. That employee may not only swipe your | | | | online purchases. With shopping on the internet |
| card for payment, but also swipe the card with a small | | | | becoming more and more popular, card fraud on the |
| machine they hold in their hand known as a skimmer. | | | | internet has also increased. |
| This small device will store the information from your | | | | The crooks will also use the internet to verify the card |
| card into its system. The skimmer is equipped to hold | | | | information is valid. They will purchase many low-ticket |
| information on hundreds of credit cards and from this | | | | items through various websites, checking to see if the |
| information, the crooks are able to produce counterfeit | | | | card is active. Internet processing of card purchases is |
| cards. | | | | done by real-time processing and not handled by a |
| There are skimming rings working all over the world | | | | person; thus, no chance of them being caught trying to |
| and once your information is put into the skimmer, it is | | | | use a stolen card number. |
| then downloaded into a computer, ready to be emailed | | | | The cardholder is a victim of this crime and is |
| to anyone worldwide. | | | | responsible for up to $50 of the total amount charged |
| A decade ago, this fraud was not as easy to | | | | on his card, while the real victim in all of this is the |
| accomplish as it is today, due to the fact skimmers | | | | merchant whose employee did the skimming. The |
| were very large and had to be hidden under counters. | | | | merchant is held 100% responsible and risks losing the |
| However, with the advance of technology in the past | | | | merchandise, and is responsible for paying the fees of |
| ten years, they have been able to streamline the | | | | the investigation. Investigation fees paid by consumers |
| skimmer, making it small enough to be hand-held and | | | | and businesses in 2003 amounted to an estimated |
| out of sight of the unwary customer making a | | | | half-billion dollars in annual revenue for credit card |
| purchase. These skimmers are easy to buy; in fact, | | | | companies. This money is used by the card |
| they can be purchased over the internet at around | | | | companies to offset costs to investigate charge back |
| $300. The machine needed to make counterfeit credit | | | | claims by their customers. |
| cards is a much larger investment - costing $5,000 to | | | | The crook who perpetrates this card fraud, for the |
| $10,000. | | | | most part, goes unpunished. There is a limit of $2,000 |
| Another form of this scam is done by actually pulling | | | | before a criminal investigation can be started; the |
| information directly from the credit card terminals. A | | | | crooks know this and will not exceed $2,000 on their |
| skimmer bug is placed into the terminal and later | | | | purchases from any one business. Thus, they are |
| retrieved with credit card information on it. Only the | | | | pretty much free to continue to victimize consumers |
| older terminals can be violated in this way and with the | | | | and businesses. |