Students targeted in credit card fraud

IU senior Margo Ain frequents the bars during the weekend, often using her debit card to pay for drinks. Ain, who spends an average of $15 on a night out, was surprised when her monthly debit card statement didn't reflect her usual spending habits.\n"There was a big charge for a flight in England and other random things totaling about $2,000," Ain said. "There were also a lot of overdraw fees from my checking account."\nThat's when Ain realized she became the victim of fraud -- a problem that isn't uncommon for some IU students. Since Jan. 13, 21 students have reported similar fraud instances to the IU Police Department, police statistics indicate.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said fraud can occur in a number of ways, including stealing cards from a wallet or purse, applying for a credit card application using another person's account number or finding the credit card number from someone else's old receipt.\n"Probably the most common now and ever increasing way of being frauded has been instances where a credit, debit card or account number attached to a financial institution has been compromised," Minger said.\nMinger said once someone reports fraud, the case goes directly to IUPD detectives, who notify the credit institution and also the mall.\n"That way, with just one phone call we can hit a multiplicity of stores and mall security because that's the first place people think to go," he said. "We have nabbed the thief at the mall several times."\nFreshman Nick Drumm, a Maryland resident, dropped his IU Credit Union debit card when he was home during winter break. After receiving a call from his bank about questionable gasoline charges on his account, Drumm was instructed to contact his bank and police immediately.\n"(The bank) cancelled my card but it took a while because I had to file a police report and a report with my primary bank at IU," Drumm said. "But I couldn't do anything until I got back to school."\nDrumm said although the charges were fairly low, he incurred an additional $25 charge because he didn't have enough money in his account to cover the gasoline charges. After he was eventually reimbursed for the charges several weeks later, Drumm declined to apply for another debit card.\n"To me, it wasn't worth the risk of it happening again," he said. "I dedicated a huge amount of time to running back and forth from the bank to the police station. For such a small amount of money, it was way more than I thought I'd have to do."\nAccording to the Federal Trade Commission Web site, credit card fraud costs millions of dollars each year for cardholders and issuers.\nTo protect against credit card fraud, the FTC suggests consumers take some precautionary steps, which include signing a card when it arrives, carrying cards separately from a wallet, keeping a detailed record of important account information, saving receipts and reporting questionable charges.\nMinger said it is essential for someone to notify the police or credit card company immediately if they suspect their account has been compromised. Often, he said, the company will put an alert or freeze on a card holder's account. He also recommends students use "common sense practices" with their accounts.\nAlthough Ain's bank covered the overdraw fees that resulted from the fraud, she was forced to wait several weeks for a new card. \n"It took a while until everything went back to normal because (the bank) froze my whole account," she said. "I had to use my parents' credit card until I got a new card."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.