Top places to lose a credit card

It is easy to lose a credit card. As a merchant you have probably seen it with your customers more than you would care to admit and you yourself may have even lost your card at some point. Creditcards.com recently published a list of the top spots for credit card theft to take place so this is something that you may want to keep in mind and even remind your customers. After all, if they lose their card they can’t use it in your place of business.

The seventh most common way is from your own email inbox. This is done via phishing attacks that are attempting to get an unsuspecting victim to give their information to the thief. A link is provided to click on and when the user is taken to the site they are asked to enter their information in order to confirm something or to win a prize. In many cases this site also is infected with malware which will also infect the computer, a two-for-one for the criminal. This same method can be also done via text messaging and directly calling a victim. The short way to avoid this is to not give out any information to anyone who requests it and to not click on any suspicious links.

The sixth most common is through the trash. Criminals will look in your trash for anything of value and credit card statements are particularly valued. This can happen at your home or place of business and can lead to your identity being stolen and fake accounts set up in your name. The easiest way to avoid anything with this is to shred anything important that is thrown out.

The fifth most common comes from one thing we all love: free wi-fi. A criminal can connect to the network and potentially see any information that is entered. This is most common in motels, airports and stadiums. The best way to avoid any theft here is to not enter any credit card information over public wi-fi and to use only secure sites to do so.

The fourth most common is data breaches. Yes, these have almost become a new norm in today’s society and are happening at restaurants, boutiques, hotels and retailers large and small. EMV cards have become more secure and are helping to mitigate some of this but depending on how much information is lost it is also leading to Synthetic ID fraud as well. Cleaning up the mess is a huge drain on retailers affected so to fix this it has to start with them.

Third comes at places of service like a restaurant or a bar. When it comes time to settle up patrons hand over their card and don’t think twice about it. The card in most cases is taken out of sight and if the employee has a mobile skimmer, well, you will be done the wiser until you look at your statement. Paying with cash can help to avoid this and experts recommend using a credit card over a debit card since consumers have better protection.

Second is from skimming. Since the US is the last major economy to switch to EMV cards our cards still have magnetic strips that are easily scanned. Criminals place skimmers on gas pumps or ATMs to try to capture the information off the card and then either clone the card themselves or sell it on the dark web. The good news is that technology is being developed to defeat skimmers and the public is becoming more and more aware about what to look for to spot one but they are still a scourge to society.

The most common way credit card theft can happen is that it can be stolen right out of your car. Many people do not lock their car doors, whether it is at home or while running errands and many leave a purse or a wallet sitting in the car in plain sight. This is like a beacon for a criminal. Of course even if the car is locked a criminal can bust in a window, grab the wallet and be gone before anyone notices. This is most common in areas where the driver goes out of sight of the car. The best thing to do is to not leave wallets or purses in plain sight and definitely lock your car. With the holiday season coming up make sure that your customers know this!