Credit card scams: What to look out for this holiday season

Credit card scams are proliferating, particularly with the holiday shopping season in full swing. 

Fraudsters are deploying various tactics to pull off such scams, including using credit card skimming machines and sending fake messages about fraudulent or unauthorized charges. 

During the holiday season in particular, "fraudsters try to capitalize on people who are looking for a great deal by creating fake websites where it looks like favorite brands are being sold for unbelievable prices," Michael Jabbara, Visa’s global head of fraud services, told FOX Business.

VISA REPORT HIGHLIGHTS EMERGING SCAMS TARGETING CONSUMERS AND TRAVELERS

In the past four months, Visa identified a 284% increase in fake and spoofed merchant websites compared with the prior four-month period, according to Jabbara. 

"These websites sometimes look identical to the merchants they are spoofing, making it very important consumers independently verify they are on the website they think they are," Jabbara added. 

There has also been a dramatic increase in scam merchants posing as legitimate charities. While some fraudsters create spoofed versions of legitimate charities, others create fake charities with plausible-sounding names.

Consumers also need to be wary of any text messages claiming there has been a fraud charge on their credit card.

JOB SCAMS SURGED 118% IN 2023 DUE TO AI, WATCHDOG GROUP WARNS

If consumers receive a text that there has been a fraud charge, scammers will typically ask for their passcode or other information via text. 

"Your credit card company will simply never do this by e-mail or text," Ted Jenkin, co-founder of oXYGen Financial, told FOX Business. "The simplest thing to do is pick up the phone, call the 800 number on the back of your card, and validate what you received on your phone."

The American Bankers Association has also warned consumers about "card cracking," which is when consumers respond to an online solicitation for fast and easy ways to get money.

Criminals will leverage social media platforms like Instagram to solicit consumers and convince them to share their debit card or bank account information to withdraw fake check deposits.

Instead, criminals will deposit worthless checks using mobile deposit and immediately withdraw the funds at an ATM, according to the ABA. 

Another thing consumers need to be wary of is ATM skimmer devices, which are either inserted in the card reader or installed within the terminal. 

Skimmers can also fit over the terminal's card reader or be situated along exposed cables at freestanding ATMs. Fraudsters will use pinhole cameras installed on or around ATMs to record a customer's PIN entry, or they may use keylogging keypad overlays, which record a customer’s keystrokes.

Skimming, along with phishing and identity theft, are the three most common credit card frauds that securities attorney Andrew Stoltmann has dealt with over the years.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"One of the most common scams is people receiving a text apparently from UPS or FedEx. They then click on it and people either have access to the phone or they are asked to confirm through a credit card what the actual credit card was to use the purchase," he said, adding that this is "particularly convincing during the holiday season when so many people are sending packages."