Email Credit Card Scams

Email credit card scams come in a variety of forms, but the intent is usually the same; someone else tries to compel you to give up your credit card number and additional information like the name on the card, the expiration date and the three digit security code.

Don't get hooked by a scam.

If there is a way to use email to obtain sensitive financial information from individual consumers, chances are unscrupulous hackers have already thought of it and have attempted it. Usually, someone poses as a credit card representative and asks for you to verify credit card information when, in fact, what the person is trying to do is gain access to your credit card information so it can be used to make purchases or obtain cash advances.

Oftentimes, the writer of the email will pretend to represent a valid financial institution and will convey the idea that there is a problem with your account that must be fixed immediately. Common scenarios presented within these emails include:

• Your credit card number has been stolen and you need to verify that you are indeed the rightful accountholder. In order to verify your identity, you will need to provide your credit card number as well as other private information.
• Your credit card company has a great offer for you, whether it is an increased limit, a lower interest rate or maybe even free merchandise. If you want to take advantage of this limited time offer, you will have to act quickly and provide your credit card information to verify your identity.

It is also common for these types of email credit card scams to involve something that is too good to be true:

• A sweepstakes representative wants to send you your winnings, but you have to pay a processing fee using your credit card.
• A person is selling something for far less money than it is worth, but insists that you pay with your credit card if you want to make the purchase.

The point of these scams is to not only give you a sense of urgency in responding, but also to offer you something you want. Whether it is merchandise at an incredibly low price or peace of mind that your credit card account is not in peril, these scams appeal to people's propensity to act first and think later when these types of situations arise.

Some scams that land in your email inbox are relatively easy to spot. Badly formatted letters, poor spelling and grammatical errors are usually quick indicators that the email is not from a financial institution. Emails that purport to be from someone who wants to send you money may have far too many phrases that implore you to act immediately such as "Reply ASAP!" or "This offer ends in one hour!"

Rest assured that if your financial institution is trying to contact you to inquire about your credit card account, it is highly likely that they will use more than one email and will instead probably initiate contact via telephone on the first attempt. You can also rest assured that sweepstakes winners are usually not given just an hour window to reply to an email.

If you receive an email that appears to be from your financial institution, it is a good idea to call the phone number listed on the back of your credit card to verify that the email actually originated from a valid source. Some credit card companies also have fraud alert departments that you can forward the email to for further investigation.

If the email that appears to be a scam is from someone claiming to have sweepstakes winnings for you, or an inheritance or some other financial windfall you weren't expecting, use extreme caution. If you think the email is valid, remember that you should never have to supply your credit card number to get your hands on money that is rightfully yours.

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