Credit cards: when to be suspicious when you're spending

Credit cards: when to be suspicious when you're spending

News of credit card scams are everywhere at the moment and there seems to be no limit to the amount of ways that they can get hold of the all-important details encoded on your plastic and, ultimately, your cash.

It's estimated that around 3 million people fall victim to scams every year in the UK and lose an average of 850 each.

So, what should you look out for when you're spending?

More to the point, are there any security features that are worth particularly looking out for when you do a credit card comparison of the market or do all companies offer the same level of protection against fraudsters?

Let's start with the things to look out for.

First, when you're paying with your credit card you should never let it out of your sight.

Even restaurants should have chip and pin machines that can be bought to the table. If they don't, get up to pay.

Second, watch out for telephone and email scams which ask for your credit card details, this is known as phishing.

If the offer appears unexpectedly or is from an unknown or unverified source then it should definitely be questioned. Don't hand over details before you can verify the seller or, if online, use a verified system such as paypal.

Also be suspicious of offers which give you a very short amount of time to make a decision.

You can find more information on sites such as Consumer Direct a government information site which includes information about detecting and avoiding scams.

Third, look out when you're withdrawing cash from a machine.

Shoulder surfing - people looking at your pin - should be fairly easy to avoid.

However, this shouldn't be too much of a problem with credit cards - especially offer cards such as 0% balance transfer credit cards - since withdrawing cash is ill-advised in any case because it is so expensive.

However, very complex scams such as cash machine skimming - where criminals copy card details and use a miniature pinhole camera to film you putting in your PIN - can be near-impossible to avoid.

If you are a victim of fraud you have to rely on the law and your credit card provider.

Some providers do offer extra security services but whether this will be useful will depend on how you spend.

Look out for internet fraud guarantees if you're an ebay addict or worldwide assistance if you're a globetrotter.

This is true of both traditional application and instant decision credit cards.

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