Credit Card Fraud Increases Before Chip and Pin Fights Back

There was a 20% increase in credit card fraud last year, as the crooks of this world tried to pull in as much of our cash as possible, before the introduction of the new Chip and Pin system, which will hopefully decrease the amount of credit card fraud by at least 60% and with a total of almost £505million lost to these lowlife, then it should save a very significant sum of money indeed.

Chip and Pin is the new system that is being hailed as a harder system to break into for the credit card fraudsters, as it requires a four-digit number to be punched into a keypad and only the cardholder will have access to this number. This is in contrast to the old metallic strip and sign method, were the chances of your credit or debit card being “Skimmed”, was made easier by a counterfeit card being signed by the crook and then used to withdraw cash or to buy goods, without having to be a hand writing expert, were as the new cards being “Skimmed” will require to know the Pin and with the card holder only being the one person who should know this, will make it harder for the crooks to break into your account.

This has led the crooks to try and seize a jump on us, as the introduction of the new Chip and Pin system, will mean that everybody will have to receive new cards that will have the Chip and Pin facility, this has seen many new credit cards being intercepted in transit, in the knowledge that most people will think that the cards will be sent out automatically and will have no idea when they should arrive in the first place, so by getting their hands on the credit cards first, the crooks know that they could have a substantial amount of time to take advantage of the card.

Chip and Pin will cancel out the “Skimming”, though it wont be able to cut out credit card fraud completely, as “Card Not Present” fraud will now be the preferred choice of the credit card thieves, were as you now your Pin will not be needed for any transactions that you make over the phone, the Internet, TV shopping channels or by mail order.

If you have not yet received your new cards yet, then a quick call to your credit card issuer to see if they are in the process of being dispatched or were sent a while ago, will give you the chance to stop the chances of any fraud being done on your credit card. Also once you receive your new Chip and Pin credit card, be a little more vigilant when you are using it to make a purchase and check that no one is trying to see over your shoulder as you put in your Pin.