Skimming of credit card data is a worldwide problem nowadays. The figure is estimated to be US$1 billion. It happens mostly in restaurants where the waiter copies your credit card data in a magnetic tape and uses the data on a duplicate card. There are many ways in which you can prevent these frauds. First of all you should be aware of how to handle a credit card transaction with a merchant. Check out if the card swiping instrument is looking unfamiliar and whether the merchant is asking you question which is irrelevant to the transaction such as your date of birth and the CVV number in your card.

If you feel that even after adhering to all safety measures your card has been misused by the merchant you should call up the credit card company and ask for a chargeback. It should be noted that if a merchant is called up for chargeback very often, then the credit card companies blacklist such merchants. There can be three major complaints that can be filed by the customer. The first and the most severe one is when the customer says the transaction is not valid and asks for a chargeback. If the customer is not satisfied with the quality of the goods and services delivered by the merchant, a complaint can be lodged to the credit card company. If the merchant fails to deliver the products or services then the customer can lodge a complaint with the credit card company. In all these cases the card company takes action against the merchant if the charges are found to be correct.