Group sponsors National Consumer Protection Week

By KATHERINE MORRIS
Collegian Staff Writer

Credit-related problems such as debt or bankruptcy are widespread on college campuses, but there are other issues that should concern students who carry plastic.

In an attempt to educate people about credit fraud and other dangers, the first National Consumer Protection Week began on Monday.

Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said on the NCPW World Wide Web site (www.consumer.gov) the organization's goal is to educate the public about popular consumer scams and the cost of such scams to consumers.

Credit fraud is an issue that affects all consumers, not solely the victims of fraud. According to the NCPW newsletter, credit fraud causes credit cards' interest rates and financial service fees to increase.

While there are many types of credit fraud, the most prevalent occurs when a credit card is lost and someone other than the cardholder makes purchases on the account.

Reggie Chevis, a Visa employee said missing credit and ATM cards should be reported to the issuer immediately, regardless of whether they were stolen or lost.

"I lost my wallet and my credit cards were in it. I found it a month later, but I cancelled all my cards (right away)," Lisa Rauch (freshman-communications) said.

Chevis said once a stolen or lost card report is taken, the company looks for suspicious activity on the account. If any is found, the report is sent to an investigation committee, and the cardholder is not held responsible for those charges.

Visa takes many precautions to make credit fraud of this type more difficult to commit, Chevis said. Fraud-detection centers monitor the activity on a person's credit cards. When unusual activity occurs, the cardholder is notified.

"We also have an automatic dialer. If there is too much charging occurring, the account is stopped and the cardholder is notified," Chevis said.

Other types of fraud involve companies who falsely claim they can repair a cardholder's damaged credit, said Peggy Leister, credit counselor at Consumer Credit Counseling Services, 1631 S. Atherton St.

Many of these companies appeal to people with bad credit history, she said, enticing consumers by claiming to erase credit problems from their records. Consumers need to beware of these companies because only the creditor can change the information on an individual's credit account.