According to ccsafety.org, an international website dedicated to helping credit card holders protect themselves, there are a number of ways that owners could prevent identity thieves from taking their information.
One method is to purchase items from a well reputed website that has a secure payment system. Another is keeping only one or two cards with you while the rest are stored in a secure area.
Do you know anyone who was a victim of credit card crimes? Were they able to get help? How? What more could be done to prevent such crimes from occurring?
Credit card fraud is on the rise.
There are many credit crimes happening around the world. It's becoming an international problem. The reason for this is because that many people need money so they turn to stealing in order to get it. Also, crime is increasing because banks aren't doing enough to protect their customers.
– Ahmad Ali Bashir
Abu Dhabi
The rise in credit card fraud can be linked to a number of things, such as the increasing number of people who are shopping online. Also, when customers pay in retail outlets by credit card, fraudsters can use techniques such as skimming, whenever a credit card is swiped. When that is detected, it usually is too late.
– Salim Khan
Sharjah
As people have more than one credit card, they are at risk for something happening like credit card crimes. When people don't manage their cards well by keeping track of their expenditures, they set themselves up to become victims of fraudsters because they aren't sure about their credit card details. Banks should find ways to fight such crimes more effectively so they can protect their customers.
– Mohammad Boukhdoud
Abu Dhabi
It happened to me four months ago. Someone withdrew Dh1000 from my account and when I notified the bank, my old card was cancelled. After a while I was issued a new card but I am much more cautious when I use it. People are always being pushed to have more than one credit card and because of that they become vulnerable to such crimes.
– Sayed Bu Haroun
Dubai
Banks have failed to standardise security measures for protecting pin numbers.
I think security has a lot to do with user awareness. I lived in the US and there I felt that banks are much more vigilant. Once there were some minor charges listed on our statement. My husband wanted to ignore it but I made him follow it up. It turned out to be a method our bank uses to check the awareness of credit card holders.
– Shagufta Aftab
Dubai
Banks should come together and agree on a central system that would protect their customers from things like pin numbers being stolen. If there were a set of guidelines in place then all banks could follow them and that would help increase their security. At the moment each bank follows their own security systems to protect their customers' information.
– Fadi Edward Nazarian
Dubai
I haven't had that happen to me personally but I read a lot of reports about such crimes. Especially about people stealing from Automated Teller Machines (ATM) by using the pin numbers of customers that they had stolen. Banks should increase their security around such areas by adding more video surveillance and putting the ATM inside a room instead of it being simply placed in external kiosks.
– Hemant Kulkarmi
Dubai
Banks are doing enough to protect the information of their customers from being stolen, such as their pin numbers. One thing that banks could do is to upgrade the chips that are featured in some of their cards to make it harder to steal from. If they do that then it might discourage some thieves from trying to skim the user's information.
– Angela Chia
Dubai
Banks don't offer adequate coverage for victims of credit fraud.
Banks in the UAE should increase their security measures so that such incidents don't happen. I work in an office and it would be easy for me to take the details of one of my colleagues. I could then use that to open an account or apply for a card. If that happens and it can be proved then banks should reimburse the victim because the banks weren't careful enough.
– Khurram Asif
Dubai
I don't think that people in the UAE would try to steal credit cards and use them because there are many methods used to protect consumers here. If you don't notify the bank that your card was stolen then I don't think that they would return the money that was stolen. But if you do and can prove it then I think the bank would return your money.
– Elie Nader
Dubai
I think it depends on the customer. If a customer has a good history with the bank and can be trusted, then the bank would return the money that was stolen from the account holder. But if a customer has a bad history with the bank then they might not be given back the money that was stolen from them. But banks should provide services for such victims.
– Arsalan A.
Iran
Some banks provide good services to their customers. But I know someone whose credit card was stolen and she wasn't notified until much later by her bank about several large transactions that were done in her name. Even though she tried several times to prove that it wasn't her using the credit card, the bank still didn't reimburse her the amount that was stolen.
– Shalron Pereria
Dubai
Crime is also a result of people not taking precautions such as signing their credit cards.
Anyone who owns a credit card is responsible for it. If they don't provide a photograph to be used on their card or sign the card then it's difficult to tell whether the person using the card is the original owner. If people don't notify the bank that their card is missing then the bank can't be liable for their carelessness.
– Joseph Arauag
Abu Dhabi
Crime rates are increasing overall and credit card crimes are the easiest to commit. Any carelessness on the part of the owner can cost them dearly. People should use features that are provided by the bank such as using a pin number or password whenever they do a transaction or purchase. It would help to reduce the number of such crimes that are being committed.
– Shaikh Ali
Sharjah
I use a system with the bank where they contact me if any of my purchases are over a certain limit. Once a customer confirms that they were the one that did the transaction then everything would be fine. Because such crimes are increasing because of newer technology and smarter criminals, then banks should have more than one security system in place to combat them.
– Abdasalam Bedran
Sharjah
Credit card owners have to be careful, especially if they are travelling abroad. It happened to me once. I was abroad and the bank contacted me regarding some activity on my card and it turned out that someone was trying to use my card without my knowledge. My credit card was immediately changed.
– Sumit Kumar
Dubai
