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Avoid being a victim of a credit card clone.
Having your credit or debit card cloned can leave you thousands of pounds out of pocket. Fortunately there are some relatively easy steps you can take to reduce your risk....
A couple of years ago I was the victim of identity theft. Someone managed to get enough information to be able to go on an eight hundred pound shopping spree at iTunes after cloning my debit card. I only found out when I went to a cash point and found out I was overdrawn.
It was a pain. Not only was I left without money, I also had to spend a few hours calling various places to explain what had happened and that my direct debit was about to bounce on them.
I was lucky - all that happened was my account was emptied. I have come across people who have had investments cashed without them knowing and loans taken out in their names. The consequences can be more than a few hours of phone calls - credit ratings can be left damaged for years, or unexpected creditors can turn up with court orders.
There are three simple steps you can take to actively manage your risk of being a victim: Set up Internet access to your bank accounts, investments and utility companies, then turn off receipt of paper statements and bills;
Use Internet banking to check on your account at least weekly and look for transactions you can't explain - including unusual direct debits;
Check your credit file at least half yearly and watch for unexpected credit searches or loans you can't account for. The moment you see something suspicious do something about it. Contact your bank, the utility company or investment company and alert them to the fact you suspect there is something wrong.
Unfortunately identity theft is a crime that is going to stay with us. Keeping an eye out means you stand a better chance of reducing the impact it could have on you.
Did you know... there are 3 main agencies that provide credit reference information to the credit industry: Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. While some of them would like you to pay 10 pounds a month for online access to their records, it only costs 2 pounds to ask for the information by post (and it is easier to understand!). More information is on the Information Commissioner's website.  Ross Hall is The Smoke's webmaster and editor. In real life he's a Compliance Officer and sometimes photographer.
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Published on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
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