I had no cash advances in my credit card! INQUIRER.net
July 14, 2009
(This is part of Take Charge of Your Money, a partnership between INQUIRER.net and Citibank to help readers handle their personal finances well.)
Q: I could not believe it but I fell victim to a fraud. Someone called me pretending to be an officer from my credit card company, and offered to upgrade my Gold card into a Platinum. I was so flattered I went along with all their instructions — from signing an authorization letter to disclosing my cash advance PIN to surrendering my cut-out card. Next thing I knew - nearly P200,000 in cash advances were made on my card — all of which were not mine. What do I do now? Must I pay for this? – Renee
A: It is unfortunate that such a thing has happened to you. Fraudsters have been playing this trick on people without thinking of the consequences of such an evil deed. Billions of dollars have been involved in credit card fraud worldwide.
The sad part is that, from the information you shared with us, you are liable to pay for those cash advances. There are two things a credit cardholder must never do: surrender the card, and divulge one's cash advance personal identification number (CA PIN) or telephone personal identification number (TPIN), not even to someone who claims to be an employee or officer of the credit card company.
This is because giving out your credit card and/or revealing your CA PIN/TPIN is tantamount to giving another person access to your credit account. That means he may be able to charge purchases to your account or, as in your case, take out cash advances using your card.
The first thing you must do is to report the fraud to the credit card company right away. This will allow them to block off the card so no more unauthorized purchases or cash advances will be made.
File a police report detailing everything that happened. Give the police the data they need: your credit card number and the dates when the fraudster called and made the unauthorized cash advances. Make sure you get a copy of the police report and give a copy to the credit card company.
If you have previously arranged to have your utility and other bills automatically charged to this credit card, make arrangements to pay these bills separately through another card or pay them yourself directly over the counter by cash or check. Consider your account “frozen” or closed until the investigation has been finished.
Here are steps you can do to make sure this fraud does not happen again to you or to anyone you know:
1. Always know where your cards are and keep them in a safe place. 2. Don't give your account number or other credit card information over the phone unless you know the company and you made the call and the company is reputable. The credit card company will never call you to “verify” information such as your account number or other credit card information since they already have it. 3. Never lend out your card to anyone, or surrender your card to someone claiming to be an officer of your credit card company. When a credit card company issues a new card to an old cardholder, they will not ask for the old card to be surrendered. 4. Don't give out your TPIN and CA PIN to anyone, not even to someone claiming to be an officer of your credit card company. The credit card company will never ask you for your TPIN or CA PIN. 5. When you receive your new credit card, cut out the old one across the magnetic strip and dispose of the pieces properly. 6. Upon receipt of your new credit card, sign at the back immediately. 7. Record card numbers, expiration dates and phone numbers. Make sure you have this information kept separately from your credit cards. As soon as you realize your card has been lost, stolen, or compromised, call the hotline immediately. 8. Choose a TPIN and CA PIN that cannot be identified with you (example: birthday, house number, etcetera). Change your TPIN and CA PIN regularly. 9. Always check your credit card billing statement and call the credit card company when there is a discrepancy within 20 days from receipt of your billing statement. Keep your credit card slips on file. 10. Make sure that when you transfer residence or change offices, you call the credit card company immediately to update your contact information.
With fraud on the rise, we must all be vigilant and extra careful.
(INQUIRER.net and Citibank invite readers to ask questions regarding financial matters. Send your questions to personal_finance@inquirer.net or comment through our personal finance blog called MoneySmarts.)
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