Shoppers cautioned about fraud during holidays

Kevin Rademacher

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 | 10:44 a.m.

Amid the shopping frenzy that defines the holiday season, retailers and banks are on guard for check and debit card fraud, and they are cautioning consumers to be cautious as well.

The most common tip starts with the trash.

"Buy yourself a holiday gift: a shredder," said Joyce Smith, vice president and district manager for Wells Fargo Bank. "Nothing should ever go into the trash that has any personal information on it."

The advice comes as the holiday season increases the chances of fraud.

"There's no question that when there's a lot of activity there's going to be more check fraud attempts," warned John Hall, spokesman for the American Bankers Association. "It's certainly the time of year when people need to be careful."

The ABA recently released a survey that said attempted check fraud at the nation's banks reached $5.5 billion in 2003. Attempted check fraud totaled $4.3 billion in 2001. Still, actual dollar losses fell from $698 million in 2001 to $677 million in 2003.

Banks said account screening software, use of credit scores when establishing accounts were listed as some of the top methods used by banks to thwart fraud.

Those totals, however, do not include the fraud losses incurred by retailers and consumers.

At major retailers, executives said that those looking to commit fraud attempt to find cover among long holiday lines and overwhelmed staff members.

"They try to capitalize on the volume and the stores that hire a lot of new employees that might not be well trained," said DeAnne Mautz, a manager at the Target store at Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road.

Target, however, stresses "asset protection" training for all its new employees, and capitalizes on the number of stores to pass on information about schemes that pop up around town and around the country, Mautz said.

"We have daily huddles to discuss those issues," she said.

Such preventive methods are critical for retailers, said Smith and Paul Stowell, a spokesman for Business Bank of Nevada. While consumers are largely protected from losses through banks and credit card companies, retailers will typically suffer the loss associated with a bad transaction.

Most banks offer education for retailers on how to sport fraud.

"Our people are always working with their retailers and trying to get the information out," Stowell said.

Smith said some of the best advice for retailers is getting to know their customers. That, she added, might be as simple as checking identification. Going the extra step, however, is a good idea.

"Have the customer take the ID out of the wallet and feel it," Smith said. "Check to make sure that it's a valid ID and hasn't been tampered with ... I know I like it when someone asks me for my ID."

Mautz said it is about a 50-50 split between customers who appreciate ID check and those who are annoyed with the inconvenience.

"Our priority is to get people through line as quickly as possible," she said. "We know time is precious. By the same token, we want to make sure nobody is ripped off, either us or the customer."

For consumers, bankers said a few precautions can limit the chances of financing someone else's holiday shopping spree. Those tips include include paying close attention to what personal information is being given out. They also recommend carrying only the items needed for shopping, including identification and a limited number of credit or debit cards. Social Security cards, bankers agreed, should never be carried on a daily basis.

"Leave your other items at home in a safe place," said Smith.

Banks also said that lost or stolen cards, or suspected fraudulent transactions, should be reported immediately. In most cases, consumers can be credited for fraudulent transactions, but there are some time limits.

Smith said monitoring bank statements and even checking account information online are good ways to identify suspect transactions quickly.