Replicas of the latest systems designed to protect your credit cards online are being used by fraudsters to mimic the credit card issuers own security systems and to steal card holders personal information .
The best credit card security verification systems of ‘MasterCard SecureCode' and ‘Verified by Visa' manage the enhanced ‘2nd layer' security of some 70 million credit card holders, according to statistics from the UK Card Association.
Unfortunately the fraudsters are setting up websites that look similar to the extra security procedures being offered by the banks, and are luring unwary credit card holders into divulging their personal details.
If you shop online regularly you will have seen that banks and credit card companies are continually recommending customers to follow through on the extra security steps that ‘MasterCard SecureCode' and ‘Verified by Visa' offer. American Express don't currently have a visable 2nd layer system.
But internet security experts at Cambridge University say these systems encourage people to enter confidential information into pages that they cannot be sure are real.
Although the information and the way it's visually presented on these security pages could be replicated by an amateur web programmer in a few minutes, banks and retailers are increasingly requesting their customers to sign up for one or other of the schemes. There's little difference between the Visa and MasterCard versions, or to compare credit cards security systems over; they both work on the same software and principals.
Steven Murdoch of Cambridge University said
'Criminals are impersonating ‘Verified by Visa' and ‘Mastercard SecureCode' websites and collecting confidential customer data, for example their password, their ATM PIN or their card number.'
Mr Murdoch says after the launch of this extra layer of security, the number of fraudulent security sites has increased dramatically. Although the foundations of credit card law in the UK mean that the customer doesn't pay for any fraudulent transactions, consumers need to be constantly aware of their card issuers ‘Terms and Conditions' if they want to rely on this protection. Mr Murdoch says if customers are victims of fraud, they could end up being liable for it.
He went on to say
'One concern we have is this might follow the same situation as Chip and PIN. The technology first gets introduced, the Terms and Conditions get changed and customers are held liable for fraud even though there's no way for them to effectively prevent it.'
Mark Bowerman from the the UK Cards Association which aims to represent the stakeholders in the credit card industry said
'We've never claimed that those systems are 100% secure. However, if someone is a victim of fraud having signed up to those systems, then unless their bank has hard and fast evidence that they've acted negligently, then their bank or credit card issuer should be making an immediate refund to them.'
The credit card industry would say that incidences of this kind of fraud are rare and that overall, these systems contribute to the gradual decrease in credit card fraud. Fraud on debit and credit cards fell by more than a quarter in 2009 to £440.3m. However, fraud from online banking rose by 14% in the same period to £59.7m.
Ultimately one of the best ways of protecting yourself against this kind of credit card fraud is to be sure that the online retailer you're buying from is reputable.
Keeping abreast of the best prepaid cards is all about credit card comparison, Peter Robinson is a credit card expert who writes the credit card news for Cardchoices.
Who gets sued for credit card fraud?
My wife's parents stole her credit card 5 years ago, ran up the bill, and refused to pay. My wife refused to pay it also, nor would she press charges against her parents, so the card card went to collections. The statute of limitations had already expirered for credit card bills (in Texas it's only 4 years). However, the collections agency is now saying that since it's a case of credit card fraud, the statute of limitations is "mute".
Can the collections agency now sue us, can they sue my in-laws, or can they not sue anyone? My wife will not press charges against her parents, does this matter?
Answer
Isn't it interesting how people who respond here on Yahoo can't take a few moments to research their answer? Honestly folks, if you don't know, don't respond.
Or take 5 minutes (like I did) and do some simple research.
Below is the law from the Texas Statues related to fraud and the statute of limitations.
Fraud involving debts is 4 years.
Remember, collection agents depend on your lack of knowledge in the law to threaten you into paying debts.
Send them a cease and desist letter. If they don't like it let them waste their money trying to sue.
For now though.....you need to have a very serious talk with your wife. Letting your inlaws rip you off is a no-no....I do not understand why your wife is tolerating it.
answer? Kindly help others and answer below.
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