Perhaps one of the biggest nightmares of this modern age is getting duped online. There is nothing more distressing for an overseas Filipino worker, for example, than ordering a bunch of gifts for his loved ones back home — then finding out that the website he has logged on to is actually bogus.

In light of the Christmas season, and the thousands of shoppers scampering to the malls or purchasing items online, the Financial Consumer Affairs Group (FCAG) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued guidelines to avoid being victimized by credit card fraud.

According to the Financial Consumer Affairs Group, there are many ways to carry out theft and fraud involving credit cards or other similar payment mechanisms such as debit cards.

The most well-known of these is “physical” credit card theft, where the card is stolen from one’s bag, wallet, or home, and an impostor pretends to be the owner in order to buy goods or services.

Another modus operandi is counterfeiting, also called skimming. This occurs when an unscrupulous employee of an establishment such as a restaurant or gasoline station puts a customer’s credit card into an electronic device and steals the card details before returning it.

Credit card owners should also guard against phishing, which involves a “phisher” sending the cardholder an e-mail that looks as if it came from the credit card company. The e-mail asks him to log onto a webpage (which claims to be the credit card company's site but was actually set up by the phisher) and enter passwords, account numbers, and other personal information.

The most sophisticated of these criminal modes of operation is the generation of fake credit cards.

Criminals use the numbers the credit card generator creates and either test them to see which ones are valid or use a printer to make fake cards. They then look for an establishment that accepts credit cards but does not have the capacity to immediately validate them.

So how do you protect yourself from credit card fraud? The FCAG offers the following tips:

Sign your credit cards as soon as you receive them. Unsigned credit cards may fall into the hands of people who could use their own signatures to purchase goods and services.

Keep an eye on your credit card every time you use it. Make sure you get your credit card back as quickly as possible lest you become victimized by “skimming” fraudsters.

Do not give out your account number over the phone.

Unless you are sure that the caller is reputable, you should have been the one to initiate the call to the credit card company. Also remember that your credit card company will never call you to ask for your credit card details.

Never enter your credit card information on a non-secured website. Secured websites will have a URL of “https” instead of “http” and will display a padlock icon at the bottom right corner of the web browser.

Open credit card bills promptly and make sure there are no unauthorized charges.

If there are any, report immediately to the credit card issuer. Make sure you shred old receipts and billing statements and destroy old cards properly. This would ensure that your personal information will not be used for illegal purposes.

Never sign a blank card receipt.

Check the details on the sales slip before signing and ensure that the whole transaction is done in your presence.

Call the 24-hour hotline of your bank immediately and report if card is lost or stolen.

Write down the reference number, date, and time of call.

Take care of your credit cards as you would your cash. This way, you would prevent fraudsters from stealing your hard-earned money and more importantly, your identity.

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