Nadia Green, Head of Card Fraud at First National Bank (FNB), says that the bank pro-actively monitors all credit card transactions, looking for suspicious spending patterns and, where necessary, queries these with customers.

"We?ve seen some interesting cases," adds Green. "For example, we had a customer who has never left the country and, in the space of one day, had transactions going through on three different continents!"

"While the majority of credit card fraud comes from cards that have been lost or stolen, there are other means that wily fraudsters will employ to access your money. The best way to protect yourself is to be aware of them," says Green. Here are some of the main scams you should watch out for.

Skimming off the top
Card skimming is a global trend; it involves fraudsters swiping your card through a small device that is used to uplift critical processing information from the magnetic strip.

In many cases, the PIN (Personal Identification Number) is also observed while customers are completing a transaction. "This can happen in a flash while you?re distracted at a till point or when your card is out of your sight ? for example, in a restaurant or at a petrol garage. Always keep your eye on your card while transacting and ensure that it is only swiped through the usual speedpoint machine," advises Green.

"Amongst the other scams that consumers should be aware of is card swopping, where fraudsters will swop your card with someone else?s. You think your card has been returned to you by the cashier but when you check ? it has someone else?s name on it.

"This can happen while transacting in a store or at an ATM or even while your purse is left unattended. Always keep your card safe and check that it is your own card that has been returned to you after transacting. If it is not you should immediately report the incident to your bank?s lost and stolen help line.?

Phishing and Spoofing
"As fraudsters have got more high tech, so have their scams. Phishing is a phrase that is used to refer to criminals that literally go 'fishing' for details. Typically this will take the form of an email or SMS message but more recently has been seen in the form of advertisements in a local newspaper.

"Fraudsters will pose as being from a company that you trust ? maybe even your bank ? and will be looking for your personal details, including banking information that they can use. Often they will pretend to be verifying details or present you with a special offer that sounds too good to be true. "In order to take up the offer you will need to supply details," adds Green.

"Spoofing is another way that criminals may try and get your details fraudulently on the internet. When typing in a web address, they redirect you to a fake website that looks the same as the genuine site you were hoping to visit. They count on the fact that you won?t know the difference and will enter your banking or credit card details, which they then use fraudulently.

"Always check that the web address of the site you are on is the same as that which you requested and that the picture of a secure lock appears on the site, indicating a secure shopping site,? concludes Green.