Credit card fraud has seen a significant increase in Indiana, USA , a new study has revealed .
According to the research findings, at least 5,000 identity theft reports were submitted in 2020, and of this total, approximately 1,000 involved credit card fraud.
News 10 spoke with Senior Credit Analyzer, Nathan Grant, about the increase in credit card fraud.
According to Grant, during the pandemic many users were unable or unwilling to make their purchases in physical stores, so they chose to turn to online shopping, an action that makes them more vulnerable to cybercriminals .
“You don’t want to worry about the possibility of being scammed if you shop online ,but certainly in this day and age where anything can happen, users need to think about these kinds of things before and after they make their regular purchases so they don’t have to worry,” Grant said.
Grant says it's important to be careful before falling victim to a scammer. Some of the key points users should look out for are:
- Choose websites with HTTPS in the link. The “s” means it is secure. If it appears as HTTP, then the website is not secure.
- Never use public Wi-Fi for transactions. Use your personal data when shopping or make your purchases using your home Wi-Fi.
- Never give out personal information unless it's someone you trust.
Grant says simple steps like the ones above could help prevent someone from falling victim to fraud. "The fact that credit card fraud is on the rise means online transactions are riskier than ever, and all it takes for your information, and potentially millions of people's information, to be leaked is a data breach."
