Fraudulent Credit Card Scam Text Messages

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Fraudulent Credit Card Scam Text Messages

By Credit Federal | Published 08/10/2009

Fraudulent credit card scam text messages ask for credit card information.

At least one U.S. county is warning cell phone users to be aware of fraudulent text messages which are a scam to obtain credit card information.

Several people have received and reported text messages which read: "Card Services CU Alert: Your CARD has been DEACTIVATED. Please contact us at 715-220-4683 to REACTIVATE your MASTERCARD."

The automated operator then asks the caller to enter a credit card or PIN number to reactivate it.

Consumers are warned not to give out personal information like bank or credit card numbers to anyone except for your own personal bank. If you have any questions about your credit card, contact your bank/issuer directly. Whenever you receive a call which asks for your account or personal information, ask for the person's name (not the phone number), then call your bank/issuer at their phone number listed on your account statement and ask for that person. Using this method, you know you are dealing with your bank. If such person is not there; or states he/she did not call you, then you can rest assured you successfully averted a scam attempt.

Here are more free tips about credit scams and other fraudulent activity:

Fraud and Credit Scams Target Debt People When faced with big problems such as high debt, people often let their guards down in pursuit of solutions, and thus make themselves easier targets for credit scams and fraud.

Free Credit Fraud and Scam Protection Tips

Online Banking Scam Prevention Free tips on how to protect yourself against credit fraud, identity theft, credit card skimming and phishing scams.Just like banks have vaults to securely store money, online financial institutions also have security measures. But, just as a robber can walk into a bank, so too can hackers break through online security measures.

More Fraud and Scam articles: Free tips to prevent being a victim of identity theft and other financial mischief.

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Fraudulent Credit Card Scam Text Messages - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> <div style="text-align: left;">Fraudulent credit card scam text messages ask for credit card information. At least one U.S. county is warning cell phone users to be aware of fraudulent text messages which are a scam to obtain credit card information. Several people have received and reported text messages which read: "Card Services CU Alert: Your CARD has been DEACTIVATED. Please contact us at 715-220-4683 to REACTIVATE your MASTERCARD." The automated operator then asks the caller to enter a credit card or PIN number to reactivate it. Consumers are warned not to give out personal information like bank or credit card numbers to anyone except for your own personal bank. If you have any questions about your credit card, contact your bank/issuer directly. Whenever you receive a call which asks for your account or personal information, ask for the person's name (not the phone number), then call your bank/issuer at their phone number listed on your account statement and ask for that person. Using this method, you know you are dealing with your bank. If such person is not there; or states he/she did not call you, then you can rest assured you successfully averted a scam attempt. Here are more free tips about credit scams and other fraudulent activity: <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/articles/393/1/Fraud-and-Credit-Scams-Target-Debt-People">Fraud and Credit Scams Target Debt People</a> When faced with big problems such as high debt, people often let their guards down in pursuit of solutions, and thus make themselves easier targets for credit scams and fraud. <a target='_top' style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/articles/673/1/Free-Credit-Fraud-and-Scam-Protection-Tips">Free Credit Fraud and Scam Protection Tips</a> <a target='_top' style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://creditfederal.com/article/articles/629/1/Online-Banking-Scam-Prevention">Online Banking Scam Prevention</a> Free tips on how to protect yourself against credit fraud, identity theft, credit card skimming and phishing scams.Just like banks have vaults to securely store money, online financial institutions also have security measures. But, just as a robber can walk into a bank, so too can hackers break through online security measures. More <a target='_top' href="http://creditfederal.com/article/categories/Fraud-and-Scams/"> Fraud and Scam</a> articles: Free tips to prevent being a victim of identity theft and other financial mischief. </div> This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.