how fraudulent card charges happen
fraudulent charges can appear on a credit or debit card account in a few different ways such as through a data breach skimming or phishing hackers sometimes access organizations databases via a data breach stealing customer card information or other personal information these numbers are sold on the black market purchasing scammers use the numbers to make unauthorized purchases the fraudsters goal is to make card purchases before you report the fraud to your card issuer your banking institution or credit issuer might contact you to ask about suspicious charges to be safe it s always best to hang up and call the issuer directly to inquire if the scammer is calling to get more of your personal information through skimming criminals tamper with a credit or debit card swiping device at an atm store or gas pump to steal card information the information is then used to make unauthorized purchases using cards with embedded microchips or mobile wallets can help avoid this situation when using a machine inspect it well to ensure no skimmer devices are attached phishing scams use fraudulent emails or texts that pretend to be from a trusted company or government agency unsuspecting consumers hand over their personal information after requesting a login but inadvertently submit account information to a fraudster 