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Credit card skimming is causing an international problem which accounts for losses of over one billion dollars a year. In the United States this type of credit card scam is now being used although it is more commonly implimented in Latin America, Asia and Europe.

It can be easy to run a credit card scam, such as this, when you give your credit card to a store employee in order to make a purchase. When the store employee swipes your card for the purchase, it could also be swiped across a small machine in their hand called a skimmer which stores the information on your card into its own system for the store employee to use to steal from you. The information in this skimmer is used by crooks to produce counterfeit cards from the hundreds of debit and credit cards it has information on.

There are skimming rings working nearly in every corner of the world and as soon as your information is put into the skimmer, it is then downloaded into a computer and is ready to be emailed to anyone worldwide. About ten years ago it was not as easy to accomplish this fraud as it can be today, because the skimmers were large, bulky machines which had to be hidden under the counter in the store.

Some of the technological advances of the past few years has made it a possibility for these skimming machines to be hand-held and thus, invisible to the unsuspecting customer. These skimmers are easy to buy; they can be purchased over the internet at around three hundred dollars, but the machine needed to make counterfeit credit cards is a much larger investment; costing in a neighborhood from five thousand to ten thousand dollars.

Another form of skimming is done by placing a skimmer bug directly into the credit card terminals and then retrieving it later with credit card information on it. The older terminals are the only ones which can be violated in this way, and the onset of new credit card terminals has alleviated much of this bugging.

As soon as the credit card skimmers have confiscated all of the information they need from your card, they will begin to make purchases of their choice with your credit card number. Over half of credit card fraud is committed over the internet, with shopping by this method becoming more and more popular, card fraud on the internet has also increased. The internet is also used by the thieves to make certain that the card’s information is valid through the purchase of many low ticket items to be assured that the card is active.

The cardholder is one victim of this crime and is responsible for up to fifty dollars of the total amount charged on his card, however, the major victim in all of this is the merchant whose employee did the skimming. The merchant is responsible for payment of the fees for the investigation of the fraud which has taken place and he also is held one hundred percent responsible for the skimming activity and risks the loss of the merchandise. The money used by the credit card companies to offset the cost of investigating charge-back claims by their customers, comes from the investigation fees paid by consumers using credit and businesses.

Those who do this skimming scam operation know that a purchase of at least 00 must be made before a criminal investigation can begin.

Visit JSNet.org for more information on the best credit cards available and also great deals on prepaid credit cards. JSNet.org also have more of Alisdair Cosgrove’s great articles including ‘Credit Card Grace Periods‘, visit today to read more of these great credit card articles!

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Credit cards are a safe and convenient way to track expenditures when traveling, although they can be stolen rather easily in the right circumstances.

When preparing to go on that much needed vacation, protect yourself from theft by taking a few precautions prior to leaving home, because if someone is going to have the chance to steal your credit cards, not to mention your identity, it will be in a heavily populated vacation spot.

First of all, you should pare down your wallet; if you usually carry a whole fist full of credit cards, change this practice.

You will need to look at each card and determine which ones have the most available credit still on it, the largest credit line and the lowest interest rate for purchases that you make. Choose only two cards to carry and if one card is lost you’ll have a back-up card; and then on arrival at your destination, put your back up card in the hotel safe or the in-room safe.

If there is a safe in your home, put your other cards in it before leaving, if you do not have a safe of your own consider getting a safe deposit box at the bank for the things of value you will be leaving behind. Unoccupied homes sometimes will attract observant burglars, so don’t leave credit cards or other bank cards in your desk drawer or stuck in a kitchen cabinet, in plain sight.

Place all of the information for contacting the issuers of your credit cards into a safe area of your luggage. On vacation trips purses, wallets and suitcases can be lost or misplaced, so it may be wise to make extra copies of the information to carry somewhere else.

Under the terms of the Fair Credit Billing Act, your maximum liability for charges on a lost or stolen card is fifty dollars and some card issuers have zero-liability policies.

If an unusually high amount of activity is showing on your card’s account, some credit card issuers will put red flags on it, so you would be wise to inform them of any plans you have for vacation, including where you intend to go and how long you may be gone. If you fail to do this, they could put a freeze on charges if they can’t reach anyone at your home to verify that the charges are legitimate.

If you make the purchase of an item while on vacation and the item is stolen, you can get a credit on your account by notifying your card issuer of this, since many card issuers offer theft and loss protection as a second benefit of using your credit card for vacation purchases.

If you are having a hard time getting merchandise you have ordered or if the delivery of it was on time but the item was damaged when you got it, this mess can be straightened out easier if the purchase was made by credit card.

Traveling can be fun and it can be stressful, tiring and expensive, but credit cards can be very helpful when you try to keep track of those expenses.

Visit JSNet.org for more information on credit cards available and also great deals on student credit cards. JSNet.org also have more of Alisdair Cosgrove’s great articles including ‘Rethink That Credit Card Purchase‘, visit today to read more of these great credit card articles!

Technorati Tags: balance transfer credit cards, cash back credit cards, credit cards, prepaid credit cards, student credit cards

Some people will never use a credit card. Now more than every, they are frowned upon by consumers. It could be that they’ve made mistakes with them in the past or there could be other reasons why someone may not like them.

If their past experience with credit cards was one that included a large amount of credit card debt, they would not want this to happen again.

Some have been taught early on to distrust credit cards, especially parents who have dealt with credit card debt; then again, it might be the decision to avoid the complications.

There are some people who are the exact opposite, meaning they multiple credit cards.

People who have a number of credit cards they use frequently won’t typically pay off their balance every month, so they are actually borrowing money at a high interest rate.

What perspective do you have on credit card use? If you’re reading this article, you might fall somewhere in the middle, or most likely you don’t have a credit card but you are thinking about applying for one.

If you are trying to determine whether you should get a credit card, it could all depend on how you handle your finances and what sort of person you are. If money could be managed appropriately by everyone, it would be ideal, but this is not happening in the real world.

If budgeting your finances is hard for you, then you shouldn’t make getting a credit card a priority. Now, if you’re probably a candidate for credit card use, if you stick to a budget, buying just what you need when it is needed, paying bills on time, and maintaining a savings account. When you have been able to keep from going into debt, a credit card may not be a bad idea, but you still should ask yourself why you want one.

Perhaps, you would like to borrow the money on the card to live the life you want to live? If these are your reasons for applying for credit, reconsider your finances and don’t get a card.

It is just as easy to use a debit card to buy something while you’re out shopping. Debit cards are designed to be used exactly like credit cards when making purchases.

A cash rewards credit cards may work for you, but only if you are sure you can pay off your balance every month. These cards will only be worthwhile if you always pay off your balance, or else you’d be canceling out the amount you receive from the rewards and still owe more in interest charges.

Visit JSNet.org for more information on credit cards including great deals on instant approval credit cards

Technorati Tags: balance transfer credit cards, cash back credit cards, credit cards, prepaid credit cards, student credit cards

You may not realize that there are several alternatives to the credit cards offered by mail and those annoying phone calls you receive right at dinner time.

Here are five alternatives to credit cards.

Debit cards are something that has been used as an alternative to credit cards for many years in several European countries, but only in recent times elsewhere. Debit cards are just like credit cards in that they are accepted in most of the places where credit cards are accepted.

The biggest difference between the two cards is that debit cards take money directly from your bank account rather than you getting a bill at the end of the month. You should know that you aren’t as well-protected from fraud with a debit card as you will be with a credit card. You could also describe a debit card as being an electronic check.

Prepaid credit cards - these cards work just like regular credit cards do, but you are not allowed to carry a negative balance. You deposit money into your card’s account before you can use it, which means that you ‘top-up’ the card, like you do with pre-paid cell phones. This could be a great method of controlling spending and you might even consider giving one to your child to control their spending. Pre-paid credit cards are also safer than debit cards, if stolen because they could only spend whatever money was on it.

A better way to borrow money instead of using a credit card is the use of bank overdrafts in conjunction with a credit card. The limit on your overdraft is set by the bank; it will be set according to the amount you have deposited into your account each month and it does not have to paid off immediately, only when you want to do it. It gives you the ability to have your account go into the red or negative numbers. Many banks charge relatively high interest rates for overdrafts, but they rarely are as high as a credit card company’s and the better customer you’re considered to be, the better rates you’ll receive from your bank.

Traditional loans are what many people use for financing instead of credit cards. It is wise to contact a bank or another type of lender if you are planning to purchase a big ticket item like an automobile or improvements for the home to see if they can help with financing. They’ll be able to lend you the money at a much better rate than a credit card would, because they know why you’re taking the loan and they can set regular monthly payments for you to repay it.

Credit unions is the last alternative to credit cards to be listed in this article. A credit union is just like a bank, but one that is more local; a credit union is a co-operative owned by it’s members and run by the community and it is a great place to borrow from. The reason this is a good place to borrow money is because credit unions are limited by law on how much interest they can charge and they do not need to make a profit for shareholders or their owners, since they don’t have any. Credit unions are a solid alternative and well worth looking into, if there’s one in your area.

Visit JSNet.org for more information on credit cards including great deals on credit cards for students

Technorati Tags: balance transfer credit cards, cash back credit cards, credit cards, prepaid credit cards, student credit cards