NCPW: Young Adults and Credit Card Fraud

Develop good habits early on

March 2010


The new federal credit card law includes special provisions for some of the most inexperienced of credit card users — 18- to 21-year-olds. The law makes it tougher for adults under 21 to get a card. It also prohibits credit card companies from enticing college students to sign up for cards with offers of free T-shirts or other goodies.

For young consumers new to credit cards this is a good time to learn fraud and anti theft-protection basics. The main goal is to keep sensitive information like credit card numbers (as well as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and debit card numbers) private. This means storing sensitive documents in a secure place and, especially if you live in a shared housing situation, not leaving cards out in the open where they can be easily accessed. Get into the habit of shredding financial statements and unsolicited credit card offers you do not need.

Be especially cautious online. Crooks have been known to impersonate banks or credit card companies via spam e-mails that ask for your sensitive information outright. Or, they’ve directed recipients to links that either lead to bogus log-in pages or attempt to download programs intended to collect personal info and spread it across the web. Likewise, scammers have set up sites or e-mails designed to look like they are coming from legitimate retailers. Secure web pages are typically indicated by the letters “https” instead of “http” at the beginning of a URL, and they feature “lock” icons somewhere in the window browser. Likewise, avoid doing online banking or otherwise exposing sensitive information when using public Wi-Fi spots or unsecure networks. If you want to shop online, a credit card is probably a better bet than a debit card, since you won’t incur losses from your own checking account.

Thieves are increasingly engaging in tricks through social media Web sites like Facebook, so avoid downloading files or sharing information (including birth dates or specific details about your whereabouts) there, even if you think you’re speaking with an online friend (hackers can take over accounts by using another person’s log-in credentials).

Be wary of giving personal or financial data out to anyone, unless you’ve contacted them at a number known to be valid, and are certain they have a legitimate reason for requesting it. That goes for callers claiming to represent various organizations as well as those who might try to solicit information from you on the street or at your door.

Here’s one last tip: you can significantly reduce the credit card offers you receive in the mail — and the threat of someone using them to open new accounts using your identity — by taking your name off the mailing list for those offers of credit. You can stop receiving those offers by calling 888-5OPTOUT (888-567-8688), or by visiting a Web site: www.optoutprescreen.com.

IdentityTheft911.org joins a group of federal, state, and local government agencies and national consumer organizations to launch the 12th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 7-13, 2010.

NCPW 2010 — Dollars and Sense: Rated A for All Ages — highlights the importance of using good consumer sense at every stage of life – from grade school to retirement. The purpose of NCPW is to promote free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams.

IdentityTheft911.org will publish an article every day this week dedicated to heightening consumer awareness surrounding the more pressing identity theft issues at various life stages.

Visit Identity Theft 911’s resource center and www.consumer.gov/ncpw for more consumer tips.