Consumer Alert s - March 2007:

#1 Is your cashcard expiring soon? (Published in C@sebites Issue 98, 2 march 2007)

Cashcard owners, beware. Your handy cashcard has a use-by date. Cashcards issued before 2000 have a lifespan of 3 years and Cashcards issued from 2000 onwards have a lifespan of five years. NETS, the company that issues Cashcards, has estimated there are 600,000 cashcards in the market that will expire this year. 

If your card was issued before 2003, the expiry date would not be indicated on the card. To check on the expiry date of your Cashcard, you can click here. And if you want to request for a refund on your unused Cashcard, do remember that there is a two-year time limit. 

#2 Beware of credit card fraud! (Published in C@sebites Issue 98, 2 march 2007)

You open your monthly credit card bill and spot, to your horror, a high-valued transaction which you did not make. This nightmare scenario happened to a consumer who discovered that his credit card had been used to pay for air tickets in the Middle East, which he had never travelled to. The New Paper (1 Mar) reported that someone had apparently chalked up an equivalent of SGD$1,236.63 on the consumer’s credit card to pay for air tickets purchased in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.  

Luckily, the consumer immediately informed his bank and investigations are underway. How is it possible for others to obtain your credit information? One possibility is that the consumer had his card skimmed and details copied, another possibility is that of ‘phishing’. According to the MoneySENSE website, ‘phishing’ refers to a technique used by fraudsters to obtain sensitive personal information such as your account details, PIN, OTP, credit card number, user ID or password through the Internet. 

So, how should you keep yourself safe?

·    When making payment with your credit card when you are outside, always keep a lookout on your card.

·    When making payment online, always ensure that the site is a secured site – check for the padlock icon at the bottom right corner of your browser. For additional assurance, look for the TrustSG logo or the CaseTrust logo. See the full list of CaseTrust members here, including our CaseTrust webfront members.

·   Be wary of emails that ask you to disclose confidential information or to click on hyperlinks to update your confidential information. For a full list of tips from MoneySENSE to prevent yourself from falling prey to ‘phishing’, click here.

Three days cooling off period for door-to-door sales (Published in C@sebites Issue 99, 30 March 2007)

A reader wrote into the TODAY forum (“Fake gate painters”, 23 Mar) about his observations of contractors who falsely claim to be from the Housing and Development Board and who go from door-to-door selling wrought iron gates to HDB residents.

CASE has sent in a forum letter, highlighting that:

·         consumers should always request for proof of identity from salespersons

·         a three-day cooling off period applies to all door-to-door sales.

See here for our official response

We advise all consumers to be prudent when approached by door-to-door salesperson and not take any claims at face value.