In today’s high-tech, largely credit-card-dependent society, credit card fraud is a very real risk. There are many ways perpetrators of this crime can obtain and use credit card information. By developing an understanding of how credit card fraud works, you can avoid the theft and misuse of your private credit card information.
Intercept Fraud - When performing intercept fraud, criminals obtain legally-applied-for cards and use them for their own purposes. They may intercept cards by stealing them from mailboxes, taking credit cards from homes, or collecting and using stolen credit cards. Because these cards are legally applied for and issued, it is nearly impossible for credit card companies to prevent this. As such, the burden of preventing intercept lies on the credit card owner--who must carefully monitor his credit cards to ensure they are not lost or stolen.
Card Replication - Card replication fraud involves the creation of copies of credit cards. To perform this type of fraud, fraud perpetrators must have the tools necessary to create credit card copies. Because these tools are so uncommon, this type of fraud is much less prevalent than other, more easily perpetrated forms of credit fraud.