A credit card user is always vulnerable to people with bad intentions wanting to perform identity theft or a credit card forgery. There have been so many cases of credit card fraud that it has become imperative for a common man to learn about ways to protect their credit card information from getting leaked or stolen by one these thieves.
Recently a young man of Italian descent living in New York was sentenced to 140 months in prison for running Credit Card fraud schemes.
What is a Credit Card Dump?
A credit card dump is an unauthorized digital copy(of someone else’s credit card) containing user’s information like credit card number, expiration date, CCV number, and card holder’s name. This fake digital copy can be used to do purchase illegal items such as drugs and weapons.
Some thieves create fake credit cards and sell them to people wanting to make such illegal purchases. The word “Credit card dump” used to be a jargon used by these criminals but now has become mainstream due to a large number of credit card fraud cases surfacing up.
Ways to protect yourself from Credit Card Dump
1. Buy credit cards with fraud protection feature
Credit card fraud protection feature is a lot more important than you may think. It is also ingenious the way it works. Your credit card company keeps track of your spending activities like your spending capacity and the products/services you usually buy with your card.
When someone creates a credit card dump and uses that card to purchase or withdraw money, your card company gets alerted. They help the law authorities track the thief and also disable your card immediately.
2. Do not shop from unsecured sites
Always shop from online stores that have HTTPS prepending their website URL. Do not let an unsecured site get access to your personal information. These sites can steal your credit card information using malware and create a dump in no time.
Hackers are getting smarter with rapidly advancing technology. You need to catch up with them and proactively protect your assets. Or else you are doomed to become their next victim.
3. Always beware of the latest scams
This one is a no-brainer. To stay ahead of the scammers, learn how they operate and common ways in which they scam people. Credit card scammers may be clever people, but they are doing this to make a quick buck.
In today’s world, there are fewer chances of these scammers approaching you on the street or stealing your data electronically through the ATM machine. Most of them perform their fraudulent operations online. Read newspapers, subscribe to blogs like this one and stay two steps ahead of scammers.
Summary
There is no way to tell that a dump of credit card has taken place. You won’t get any notifications or your card companies fraud protection won’t get alerted. You will only know when someone else makes a purchase with your card number or you see inconsistency in your credit reports. It’s better to just prevent yourself from getting into such a predicament.