How Entercard fights fraud

Entercard is constantly working to improve security, also during vacation. We use the industry’s most advanced security system that monitors card transactions and sends an alert if there is suspicion of fraud. This is particularly useful in the summer months, when many of our customers use their cards more frequently and in different places than usual.

Tourists are prime targets for fraudsters. Therefore, it’s reassuring to know that at Entercard, we do what we can to provide security and take care of our customers.

“At Entercard, delivering a good customer experience is important,” explains Freddy Syversen, CEO at Entercard. “We do what we can to fight fraud and scams. Our security experts work around the clock, which pays off as it ensures better security in the everyday life of our customers.”

Credit cards are a safe method of payment, but there is always a risk of fraudsters trying to obtain personal information such as credit card numbers and PIN-codes. There are different types of fraud, the most pertinent with regards to travel being skimming and fraudulent charges made on stolen credit cards.

What is skimming?

Skimming is when somebody copies the card as it is being used. To prevent this from happening, Entercard encourages customers to prevent others from seeing their PIN-code, avoid letting retailers take the card out of sight, and take extra precautions when using the card’s magnetic stripe instead of the chip.

Fraudulent charges made on stolen credit cards are the other most common type of fraud while on vacation. To avoid this, we recommend our customers to treat the card as if it was a transferable security. Also, it’s important to keep the PIN-code secret at all times. Should the unfortunate situation occur, we ask our customers to contact us immediately to report the card lost or stolen.

Since implementing our new security system in 2013, a number of fraud attempts have been thwarted every day, but one particular case stands out. The system detected an unusual transaction on a customer’s card, and one of our security experts called to ask if he had the card on him. No, he answered, the card was in a locked cupboard at home and there was nobody there as they were on their way to their summer cottage. Our security expert told the customer that their home had most likely been broken into, as the card had just been used to withdraw money at an ATM. The customer turned around and drove home, just to find that there had indeed been a burglary. They had left the house at 10:30 and the first transaction was registered at 11:08, hence the burglary had happened just after they left.

The due care principle

We not only contact customers that have been victims to fraud. If we detect unusual transactions on the card, we get in touch to ensure that these are not fraudulent attempts. One customer on holiday in the US wanted to withdraw cash but found that most ATMs charged high usage fees. Eventually, he found an ATM that didn’t charge such a fee and took out 300 USD. He then realised that this was not enough and withdrew an additional 300 USD. Shortly after he received a phone call from Entercard asking if he was in the US and if he had made two identical withdrawals from an ATM. The system had flagged the transactions as suspicious and we wanted to ensure that this was not a fraud attempt, something which was reassuring to the customer.

What does our security system do?

• Monitors card transactions in real time to detect fraudulent activity
• Automatically sends an SMS and an e-mail to customers if there is suspicion of fraud