A stale credit card is more than just a piece of useless plastic. Even if you try to pay for lunch with it, it still includes important information, which means that your company’s expired card could be valuable to data thieves. Card data destruction is a vital security precaution to avoid a credit card fraud disaster.
The realities of credit card fraud are all too obvious to business owners. Unauthorized charges made with a stolen card are rarely reimbursed to the cardholder, but the merchant who took the payment sometimes loses money due to chargeback fees. As a result, seasoned business owners are aware of the dangers of credit card fraud when it comes to accepting payments. Even after the cards have expired, they may not be as cautious in avoiding fraud involving their own corporate payment cards. Nobody can afford to be slack when it comes to card destruction.
Why Is Card Destruction Important?
Expiration dates were implemented by credit card issuers as a security mechanism, and while they are generally effective, expired cards might still be beneficial to fraudsters for two reasons.
To begin with, while expired cards are rarely used to make transactions, it is not impossible for a transaction to be approved with one. (After the card’s expiration date, the issuer will usually deactivate it, and online retailers should refuse expired cards as well—but human mistake and technical issues are always possible.) Someone who obtains an expired business card may not want to chance using it in a physical store, where it will almost certainly be denied. Online sales are easier to pull off since thieves can use expired cards on several sites.
Second, if an expired card is replaced with a new one, the new card will frequently have the same number as the old one. For card thieves, that number might be extremely valuable information. They might even be able to anticipate when the new card will expire based on when the old one did. Certain internet sales may be possible with just two pieces of information. The three-digit CVV number is required for most online purchases, however researchers have discovered that computer programs can be used to circumvent this requirement. And because scammers’ technology evolves at a rapid pace, there’s no telling what they’ll be able to accomplish in the future with just a credit card number.
Best Practices for Card Destruction
Cutting a payment card’s magnetic strip isn’t an appropriate method of card destruction because the card number itself can be important. Cutting a card into a few pieces and putting them into the same garbage can is also not a good idea. Identity thieves with enough motivation may still be able to recover the card and piece together the number—and there are individuals out there who are. When it comes to data disposal, best practices recommend shredding cards when you’ve finished with them.
Credit card fraud was already a major issue, but experts believe it is now on the rise as a result of the pandemic. Thieves may now steal credit card information online more easily than ever before, thanks to the rise of contactless purchasing. Credit card fraud isn’t just committed by shady hackers. Financial desperation can lead to people doing things they wouldn’t normally do, such as stealing from their boss.
Internal fraud is unfortunately a serious danger for firms of all sizes. It may happen to even the most trusting small business owners. Internal fraud is sometimes committed not by an employee, but by someone who has access to their workspace. Perhaps someone pays a visit to a family member at work and steals a business card from their desk, or a delivery person grabs a card when no one is watching.
When it comes to discarding expired cards, permanent card destruction is always the best option. The only method to truly delete the information held in and on payment cards is to shred them. Businesses can utilize secured bins to collect sensitive data and expired cards until they can be shredded to limit who has access to financial information such as company credit card details. If any of your employees have their own company credit cards, ensure sure your data destruction policy states that expired cards must be returned for destruction.
From shredding expired cards to off-spec products, Innovative IT Solutions delivers all of the shredding services that organizations want. We’re here to assist your company in safeguarding its sensitive data. Do you have any queries about card destruction and shredding services? Please contact us right away!
