An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – many of the credit card frauds can be avoided if simple measures are observed in destroying old receipts and payment stubs, because too much of credit card data is copied on bills issued by retailers.

In spite of a Federal Law that prohibits a merchant from printing more than the last 5 digits of a credit card number and omitting the expiration date, many retailers violate the provision of Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and print the entire data of the credit card.

Not many people use the paper shredder to destroy confidential data; as a result these bills and payment stubs invariably end up in a rubbish bin and from there into to a fraudster’s hand. All confidential data must be destroyed in a manner that not a shred of information is available to a data thief.

Another medium of identity theft is through spoof emails, unsuspecting internet users receive deceptive emails that make it appear that the mail has been sent by a popular web site and a reply is solicited with personal information such as the credit card number, social security number etc, many gullible victims send the information sought, only to receive bills of purchases they never made.

Many banks are offering identity theft cover insurance that will indemnify a credit card holder against fraud or identity theft, and registering for online protection schemes offered by Visa & MasterCard are some of the preventive measures that may protect a victim of fraud.

Destroy old bills and payment stubs in a shredder.. Beware of spoof emails, use up-to-date and reliable anti virus software which has a Phising filter. Report to FACTA if businesses violate provisions on credit transactions. Register for online protection schemes such as MasterCard Secure Code and Verified by VISA Sign-up for an Identity Theft Cover with an Insurance company.

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