Credit Card Expert Blog

Credit Cards Rated for Fraud Still Needs Improvement

A new research study of the top 25 largest credit card issuers suggests many of those firms need to upgradetheir identity fraud prevention and detection tools tobetter serve consumers according to a story publishedby ComputerWorld.The story continues with the excerpts from a recentlyreleased study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Researchwhich found some of these deficiencies:56% of the 25 card issuers surveyed continue to requirefull Social Security numbers to help identify theircustomers, whether by phone, online or by mail.”This is a risky practice that unnecessarily increasesthe customer’s exposure to identity fraud,” the reportstates.Consumers are not allowed to set transaction limits orblock certain types of transactions using their creditcards, such as restricting card use to purchases onlymade with U.S. vendors, according to the study.In fact, only 24% of the surveyed card issuers allowconsumers to set so-called user-defined limits and/orprohibitions (UDLAPs) on their accounts to help preventunauthorized use, the study concluded.While more card issuers
now offer consumers e-mail ortelephone “transaction alerts” to advise them of accountactivity, the number of participating card companies isstill small — about 8%.So, our tip for today is to check what is really in yourwallet. Make sure to contact your credit card companyand inquire into what fraud prevention services theyoffer - most usually for free.We recently learned of major card provider whichuses account numbers as the default mode for accessingtheir online web site.The
consumer has to call the card issuer’s customer servicedepartment and request an alternate user id be setup forweb site access.In any event of “what’s in your wallet”, take proactiveaction to minimize your risk of becoming an easy targetfor identity theft

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