Some of the things I'm going to be talking about is the ways Credit/Debit fraud can occur like card skimming and the ways you can prevent it from happening. I'm will also talk about what to do if it ever happens to you.

I hope you enjoy the information I have researched and pulled together.

I picked this website because it includes great, simple information that is useful to younger people, like college students.  A specific piece of information that I found useful was how to report the fraud by freezing my account and contacting the bank but also that most major cards have protection built in.  As long as you are protecting your information, like your PIN, the banks cover the cost of the fraudulent purchases.  I also learned that some home insurance policies provide some protection for fraud.

What I found of particular interest is how little information is needed to create the fraud.  All that is needed is the card number and expiration date, the card holder’s name, and the card verification number (CVC).

What I didn’t know is that there are two types of CVC number.  CVC 1 codes are embedded in the card and let the bank know that the card is being used in person and CVC 2 codes are used online.  These are the 3 or 4 numbers on the back of the card that you need to enter each time.

Something that I was very interested in was how the criminals find your information.  It is not just through watching enter your PIN but also through scavenging your documents.  They may look in your garbage or steal your mail.  If they gather enough information, they can apply for a card under your name which allows them to make illegal purchases.  This website also teaches us how to put a fraud alert on our cards and how to report issues to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

The website outlines first that this is a crime, so it is necessary to report this information to the police as well as the bank.  It also outlines the responsibilities of a card holder, for example not using your date of birth or phone number as a PIN.  Other examples include, not sharing your PIN or not reporting a lost or stolen card.

Card skimming is when criminals use a device that they install into an ATM, gas pump, etc so that when you insert your card, it scans your card information so that when the criminals return, they can take your information.  It is most common at ATMs and gas stations, but you may also find it at restaurants.  Some even use a tiny camera to capture your PIN. 

To protect yourself, always protect your PIN and always take a look to see if the ATM has been tampered with, like if your card doesn’t fit right, or if it is too tight.  These can be a sign that there is a skimmer.

The video included three different examples where people told their stories and even though they reported the fraud, the banks were still trying to charge them.  One person lost their wallet, and another had issues with purchasing a motorcycle.  The advice from them was to make sure to report a loss to the bank quickly and also to know the terms of your purchase contracts. 

This includes shredding your documents before throwing them out, including your cards and putting them in different garbage bags to make it harder for criminals to get the information.

Other examples were to not share your information, only deal with your cardholder when you contact them, often calls and emails are scams or phishing.  Always review your monthly statement and contact your bank as soon as something doesn’t look right.  A final excellent piece of advice is to have your bank customer service number saved on your phone to make it easier to contact them to report a loss.

The officer said that the information gets sent to credit card lab so that they can create fake credit cards.  To me this sounds like organized crime.

The end of the video had some advice to protect yourself and that was to simply wiggle the slot where you put your card to see if there is a skimming device attached.

I’m especially interested in card fraud because my grandmother was scammed.  For her it was through a phishing email, but it had the same end result.  This is why we should make sure to check if information is real by calling the bank to check if it is true.  This is an important way to protect ourselves from fraud.

If I could pass on the information that I learned from this assignment to my friends and family, I would remind them of the importance of being cautious with their banking and personal information.  This would include keeping passwords safe, secure, and private, and making sure that they are communicating with their actual bank.  These are two great ways to protect themselves.