Scams with plastic cards

Plastic cards have rooted into our lives very deeply. Sure, this is very convenient and most of us can’t imagine their life without having a plastic card. But, along with that, popularity of banking cards has become a reason for numerous financial scams.

Few days ago there was revealed the greatest plastic card scam in the history of the United States in New York. According to the NYPD fraudsters used client’s banking card information that was received in restaurants, stores etc. in Africa, Asia, Europe and Middle East. Then they made fake cards and used them to make purchases.

Mostly, group of criminals bought Apple products. Items were resold outside the United States. Police say that scammers didn’t have any difficulties when selling items. In total, criminals managed to spend $13 million.

Work pieces for plastic cards were shipped from Russia, Libya, Lebanon and China. In some cases frauds printed fake driving licenses and attached them to cards. NYPD representative described criminals’ imagination and scam schemes as striking.

Investigation lasted for about 2 years. During this time police had to translate numerous records in Russian, Chinese and Arab languages. When searching police withdrew equipment for making fake cards, weapon, $650,000, shoes, watches, Apple devices and many more.     

As you see, there is nothing easier than becoming a victim of a plastic card fraud. You can find millions of complaints about Financial scams in the web. More and more people suffer from criminal activities and lose their money. The worst thing is that criminals invent more sophisticated ways to scam people.

If you are worried about financial scams with plastic cards, tips given below will help you to avoid falling a victim of a crime.

• cash your card only in reliable ATMs. It’s better to use ATMs in well secured places (offices, trade centers banks). Pay attention to how ATM looks like – if something seems suspicious, it’s better to use another device.
• NEVER tell anyone pin-code from your banking card. If someone calls you allegedly from the bank and ask to tell number of your card or pin-code, you should be aware. The first thing you should do is to call the number printed on your card and consult specialists from your bank.
• when filling in banking documents that include providing your banking account number, be very careful and attentive. Don’t provide the whole account number – the last four digits are enough. Otherwise, frauds can use the information you provide.
• when inputting pin-code, cover the keyboard with your hand. This trick is easy, but still very effective – no one will see the digits you enter.
• enable SMS notification service about state of your account. Many banks provide this service for free. SMS notifications will help you to be aware of all transactions and charges.