Completely fictional companies pass these charges onto people’s credit card bills and bank accounts and cellphone bills. The processing companies just pass them on and it’s up to consumers to monitor their bills and dispute the charges. So the fake company is just very nice about canceling all the charges from the people who complain, and then they rake in from all the people who don’t check their bills close enough.5. “Cramming”
Completely fictional companies pass these charges onto people’s credit card bills and bank accounts and cellphone bills. The processing companies just pass them on and it’s up to consumers to monitor their bills and dispute the charges. So the fake company is just very nice about canceling all the charges from the people who complain, and then they rake in from all the people who don’t check their bills close enough.

4. “Shaving”
Thieves try out 16-digit number sequences until hitting one that works. Then they take gift cards from stores and shave off the digits and glue them onto a credit card. They scratch the magnetic strip so the clerk has to enter the credit card number by hand.

3. “Minting”
Identity thieves hack into retailer’s computers and get people’s debt card information, manufacture new debit cards, and start making ATM withdrawals. People living in Brooklyn with their debit card inside their file cabinet all of a sudden start seeing deductions in the thousands from Bulgaria.

2. “Skimming”
Thieves fit electronic readers over the face of ATM machines, store terminals, gas machines, etc which record your credit or debit card info. Sometimes they also use pinhole cameras so they can also get your PIN. The information can then be used for minting, or bartered and sold online.

1. “Universal Default”
If you fall behind your payments with a completely different lender or service provider, your credit card company gets to raise your interest rates to the default rate, usually around 20%. Since this scam is written into your contract, it’s completely legal.

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