Can you spot a counterfeit credit card?
Credit card fraud in the U.S. has reached nearly the $1 billion mark, according to the National Fraud Information Center. Credit card fraud is successful because the chances of being caught are small and prosecution is never assured.
Result: If you don't want your company or clients to be defrauded by phony credit cards, learn how you and your employees can spot them.
How to spot a phony credit card. Follow these tips from the bookkeeper's anti-fraud manual, Mastering Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention, written by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (available at www.aipb.org/continuing_education_files/continui_Internal_controls.html.)
To make sure that a Visa or MasterCard is not a counterfeit, see that:
The signature panel (white strip of adhesive with the card owner's signature) has �Visa� or �MasterCard� printed many times and is not plain white (indicates a counterfeit) or damaged (indicates an alteration).
The numbers on the signature panel slant left and match the numbers on the front of the card.
Under ultraviolet light, a large �MC� is visible on MasterCards, a large dove on Visa cards.
The four-digit bank identification number (BIN) must be printed below and match exactly the first four digits of the embossed number or the card has been altered or is a counterfeit.
Visa's embossed account numbers begin with a 4 and contain 13 or 16 digits, MasterCard's with a 5 and contain 16 digits.
Microprinting is printing that appears to the naked eye to be a solid line, but under a magnifying glass is very small words or letters that are very difficult to recreate with normal printing.
To make sure that an American Express card is not a counterfeit, make sure that:
The account number on the front should match the one on the back.
The Centurion's head in the helmet should be printed with a high degree of clarity and detail similar to the heads portrayed on U.S. currency.
The signature panel should have wavy black lines and should not be plain white (indicating a counterfeit card) or smudged (altered card).
The card member account number should be 15 digits and should begin with 34 or 37.
Under black light, the �AMEX� should appear and the Centurion should look phosphorescent.
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published by The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB),
Suite 500, 6001 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD
20852. Tel.: 800-622-0121, Fax:
800-541-0066, email: info@aipb.org.
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