The misuse of credit and debit cards causes annual damage running into billions – mainly through cybercrime.
What is credit card fraud?
You’re wondering: Your credit card bill suddenly went up unexpectedly. Irritated, you check your card transactions and discover a payment over 350 euros for cosmetics in an online shop. You have never bought anything in this shop, you don’t even know it. Now you should be alarmed at the latest: Strange and suspicious charges on your credit card indicate that you have been the victim of credit card fraud.
The credit card is enjoying increasing popularity in the World. According to Statista, around 118.6 billion euros were turned over with credit cards in 2019 in Germany only. The credit card is considered to be the most flexible means of payment, as it can be used anytime, anywhere and regardless of the amount of cash. However, it also attracts fraudsters and thieves. Online shops who claim to sell credit card verification value adding more to this aspect. One should take care while uing from CVV shop. They misuse the stolen card information in various ways to make unauthorized purchases, withdraw cash or apply for additional credit cards.
Credit card fraud through loss or theft of the card:
Losing a Credit Card:
Losing your credit card can mean bad news for you. Namely, when the person who finds it has no intention of receiving a finder’s reward, but prefers to go shopping directly with it. Because all the information on the card is sufficient to use it to pay online. When paying in shops, the signature is often enough, and it can easily be forged. Therefore, the moment you notice the loss of your credit card, you should have it blocked immediately. There is a specially set up, free emergency number 116 116.
Credit card is stolen: The same applies to credit card theft as to losing your card. But deliberate theft increases the likelihood that your credit card will be misused. Credit card fraud most often occurs after a theft.
Who is liable for the damage?
First of all, it is important to distinguish whether the credit card or the credit card number has been stolen. If your credit card number is stolen, you cannot be held responsible for any damage resulting from it. However, it is somewhat time-consuming to prove that. The bank or the card-issuing agency will insist that you prove that you did not act with gross negligence or willful intent (with fraudulent intent). We will discuss the difference between gross and slight negligence a little later in this section. Here it also depends on the perspective, because the bank will initially assess the initial situation differently than you. It is therefore sensible and in the end cheaper to protect yourself against credit card fraud.
You are also not liable for damage if you lost your card but reported the loss before someone else used your card without authorization. Once the card is blocked, you are not liable for further card misuse, but the bank. It is therefore important that you report it to your bank immediately and report it to the police if you discover that your card has likely been stolen.
The situation is different if the card is lost, if you did not display it in time or if you did not have your card blocked in time. If your physical card is used without authorization, you as the cardholder are liable with a deductible of a maximum of 50 euros. In some cases, the cardholder’s deductible is waived entirely. When a cardholder is liable for loss or fraud with his card is set out in the terms and conditions of the respective provider.
