Have you gotten one of the new EMV-Chip cards? There have been a recent slew of scammer driven programs that are trying to get information from innocent people just trying to update their cards.

Thieves are sending out emails pretending they are your bank or a service hired by your bank that is looking to verify your card so they can send you the new EMV card.  Many ask you to send your credit card information to them and include your “code” from the back of the card.

Of course once you do this, they have everything they need to begin charging your card. Sadly many people don’t understand that in situations like this, banks automatically send you a new card and you will never be asked to verify anything via email.

This is yet another way to create an identity theft opportunity in the financial industry.

Financial institutions are currently in the process of transitioning their cardholders to EMV chip-enabled credit and debit cards, which contain a dynamic security code and are, thus, less susceptible to skimming and counterfeiting than traditional magnetic stripe cards. (You can learn more about the new chip card technology and why it’s being introduced here.)

Here’s another tip regarding the new EMV chip cards:

The chip cards protect against counterfeiting only.

They won’t stop online card fraud, so it’s still a good idea to monitor your statements regularly and report any fraud right away to dispute charges and have the compromised card replaced.