Nearly every credit card holder has the potential of becoming a victim. Protecting yourself in the days of increasingly sophisticated criminals is becoming more difficult. Fighting these criminals and reducing their abilities is even tougher than ever before for law enforcement due to drastic budget cuts and minimal resources.

So what can we do? People can significantly reduce crimes in their area by partnering with the local law enforcement and communicating their knowledge of what is going on in their community.

Unfortunately, many citizens throughout the United States obtain unwanted and unsolicited calls from subjects attempting to sell something or claiming to be from companies and corporations that do business within their area. These callers are attempting to gather intelligence on you and use the information you provide to either steal your identity or obtain access to your bank accounts or credit cards.

Many of these fraudsters have rehearsed their roles so well they truly appear to be from legitimate businesses and continue to succeed in praying on their victims. How do we stop them? How do we stop their fraudulent schemes?

First, if a business is calling you and you were not expecting to hear from, don't provide them with any personal information. If the person on the phone needs to "verify" your identity when calling you, this should be one of the first caution flags.

One of the current scams going on right now is the caller has most of the information he already wants from you however, seeking the only few items he is missing to either use your identity or take control of your bank accounts or credit cards. In fact, some claiming to be representing credit card companies no longer ask for your credit card number as they read it to you in their attempt to convince you they truly work for the business they are claiming to be with.

Therefore, before giving anyone any information about you or the financial business organizations you belong to, get his name, his employee identification number, the business name and the department he works in, and call that business using the phone numbers you have on the back of your credit cards, bank statements or other business documents you have in your possession. Don't rely on the phone number the person gave you as a direct line to "verify" who he is.

Don't fall for the trap! Let's look at how this works:

A person calls claiming to be from a security and fraud department with one of the credit cards you possess. The caller has rehearsed her calls and has been doing it so many times now that she is convincing.

She gives you her operator number, which sounds even more official, and says your credit card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, needing you to "verify" your purchase. She then tells you which of your credit cards she is referring to, the name of the financial institution, and even tells you your credit card number (or at least the last four digits) leading you to believe the call is legit.

The caller then asks you if you had purchased an uncommon item or service to get your immediate attention. When you say "no," the caller works quickly to reassure you that you will be credited with the transaction, working on gaining your confidence and trust. The caller will then say something to the effect that the company has been either watching this company or that their security systems immediately identified the inconsistent purchases outside your normal spending habits.

The caller then states that since the purchase on your credit card was not authorized, she will reverse the charges or give you a credit. She advises a statement or letter indicating such credit will be sent to your address and even gives you your address. Scary, huh? She then asks you if your address is correct, which naturally most of us without thinking say "yes."

The caller then advises they will be starting a fraud investigation. She advises that if you have any questions, you can call the phone number on the back of your credit card and ask for the security or fraud department. She then gives you a control or reference number.

So far, this all seems like normal business, right? But then the caller says she needs to verify you are the actual cardholder or that the card is actually in your possession. For you to "verify" this, she asks you to give her the three security numbers on the back of your card. When you give it to her, she says something like "that is correct" and continues talking with you to keep you focused on her helping you.

Without realizing it, you just gave her the three numbers she needed to now make purchases using your credit card. The fraudster then uses your card or sells your information and credit card information to someone else. Soon your credit card has the kind of fraudulent purchases you were trying to avoid.

If you believe your credit card or bank accounts have been jeopardized, contact those businesses and advise them. They understand the importance of protecting you and your information as their customer as well as their financial institution interest. They will cancel and reissue the credit cards or accounts necessary to protect you and them.

Never give the three-digit security number to anyone who calls you. Those security numbers are for your protection in making legit purchases. In addition, do not allow anyone to write these three-digit numbers down.

Finally, keep your local law enforcement informed of the suspicious calls and situations occurring. The faster the citizens and police communicate, the faster the scams stop. Knowledge is the power in protecting yourself and your loved ones.