Critical information to protect yourself against credit card fraud.

Credit and debit card usage has grown tremendously over the past ten years - and it's no wonder! In today's busy world, customers are looking for faster, more convenient ways to purchase the goods they need and want. The widespread acceptance of credit and debit cards has permeated virtually every industry, from retail and mail order to travel - and most recently, to new industries such as supermarkets, health care, parking lots and movie theaters. Unfortunately, this growth has also meant an increase in card fraud. Counterfeit, stolen, diverted and never-received cards are primary sources of fraud - and a growing concern for merchants and consumers.

• What is Fraud?
• What are the Associations Doing to Protect You?
• What is Serve First Doing to Protect You?
• What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

What is Fraud?

Fraud is any deceptive practice that intentionally misappropriates merchant processing activity for personal or financial gain.

When it comes to credit cards, companies encounter fraud in a variety of ways:

1. Counterfeiting - the manufacture of fake credit cards.
2. Skimming -retrieving data from the magnetic stripe of a credit card.
3. Account bust-outs - sudden large cash advances on formerly inactive accounts.
4. Fraudulent applications - new accounts opened for fraudulent individuals.
5. Identity theft fraud - existing accounts taken over by fraudulent individuals.
6. Creditmaster - creation of fake credit card account numbers.
7. Telemarketing fraud - selling fraudulent products or services over the telephone.
8. Internet fraud - selling products or services from a fake Web sites or hacking into merchant databases and deriving credit card account information.
9. Extortion - accounts accessed fraudulently followed by demands made for payment.
10. Electronic Balance Transfers - fraudulent cash transfers made from an account.

What are the Associations Doing to Protect You?

Merchants and consumers are not alone in their concern. Card associations have implemented changes through the years to protect merchants and consumers against fraud. Some of these changes include:

• Tamper-resistant signature panels.
• Magnetic stripes, with encoded verification numbers.
• Micro-printing, or tiny printing around the logo - which is extremely difficult to reproduce.
• Tamper-proof holograms. Features such as the Visa "flying V," and the MasterCard reverse italic "MC".
• Printing of the first four digits of the card number, above the embossed numbers, helping to deter criminals from ironing out valid numbers and embossing new.
• Cardholder Verification Value and Card Validation Code, or algorithmically derived numeric codes, are assigned for each account encoded in a magnetic stripe and included in electronic authorization.

What is Serve First Doing to Protect You?

Serve First must continually do the following to help our merchants combat fraud:

• Scan the product horizon and continually develop solutions for fraud management.
• Provide fraud-related consulting services to merchants through all communications channels.
• Partner with associations to pilot products and be an early adapter whenever possible.

Serve First is dedicated to arming our merchants in the fight against fraud - by providing you with the information and training you need to increase your awareness and reduce fraudulent activity.

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

Serve First provides you with valuable information regarding the best practices to use when accepting cards for payment. We provide you with guidelines to follow when the card is present, and when the card is not present. Visit those pages of this Web site for detailed information designed to protect you.