A thief goes through trash to find discarded receipts or carbons, and then uses your account numbers illegally.

A dishonest clerk makes an extra imprint from your credit or charge card and uses it to make personal charges.

You respond to a mailing asking you to call a long distance number for a free trip or bargain-priced travel package. You're told you must join a travel club first and you're asked for your account number so you can be billed. The catch! Charges you didn't make are added to your bill, and you never get your trip.

Credit and charge card fraud costs cardholders and issuers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. While i.d. theft is the most obvious form of fraud, it can occur in other ways. For example, someone may try and conduct an online scam, even though your phone is listed on the do-not-call list.  Or, they may use your card number without your knowledge.

It's not always possible to prevent credit or charge card fraud from happening. But there are a few steps you can take to make it more difficult for a crook to capture your card or card numbers and minimize the possibility.

Guarding Against Fraud

Here are some tips to help protect yourself from credit and charge card fraud.

Do:

• Sign your cards as soon as they arrive.
• Carry your cards separately from your wallet, in a zippered compartment, a business card holder, or another small pouch.
• Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place.
• Keep an eye on your card during the transaction, and get it back as quickly as possible.
• Void incorrect receipts.
• Destroy carbons.
• Save receipts to compare with billing statements.
• Open bills promptly and reconcile accounts monthly, just as you would your checking account.
• Report any questionable charges promptly and in writing to the card issuer.
• Notify card companies in advance of a change in address.

Don't:

• Lend your card(s) to anyone.
• Leave cards or receipts lying around.
• Sign a blank receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total.
• Write your account number on a postcard or the outside of an envelope.
• Give out your account number over the phone unless you're making the call to a company you know is reputable. If you have questions about a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office or Better Business Bureau.

Reporting Losses and Fraud

If you lose your credit or charge cards or if you realize they've been lost or stolen, immediately call the issuer(s). Many companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies. 

By law, once you report the loss or theft, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges. In any event, your maximum liability under federal law is $50 per card.

If you suspect fraud, you may be asked to sign a statement under oath that you did not make the purchase(s) in question.

My next door neighbour, Clare, is what you would call a 'big' girl. She loves her fast food, chocolates, biscuits, crisps ....in fact just about anything that adds the pounds and kilos to her weight. And to make matters worse, she hardly ever walks anywhere but prefers to drive instead.

So it's not surprising that about 3 months ago, she felt that her weight was getting out of control and she needed to do something about it.

Did she take up jogging? Or go down to our local gym? Nope - she decided to buy a Wii console!

She claimed that because the Wii had some new-fangled controls that didn't just involve pressing buttons like other games consoles, but that actually required you to put in some effort to play games, then she'd lose weight.

Needless to say, her husband and I were not convinced and thought that this was just another one of Clare's mad ideas (that she does have a reputation for coming out with!).

With her Wii console, she also got something called a Wii Fit that looked like one of those step blocks used in gyms for step aerobics. Clare said that this connected to the Wii console and came with a Keep Fit game that had her doing various exercises every day.

The software also kept a record of her weight, body-mass index and improvements in her performance of doing the exercise schedules.

Clare stuck to her new "exercise regime" and I would often pop round for a chat in the afternoon and find her red-faced and breathless from having just completed on of her sessions.

And the result?

Well, in the past month, she's lost an impressive 14lbs (6.4 kilos for those of you who've gone metric) and it's very noticeable. We are all impressed (even though she does keep saying "I told you so"). You can find the Wii Fit for sale on eBay at bargain prices. I'm definitely going to get one to get fitter and in shape.

Pay-day loan amounts tend to be anything from around £75 - £1000.
You can normally start at the smaller end of the pay-day loan scale and pay it back on time. Following this it will often be the case that lenders will be willing to lend you a higher amount the next time you approach them for money.

In order to get a pay-day loan in the first place you must be in work. In addition you must have your wages paid into your bank account. For pay-day loan qualification the bank account should come with either a cheque book, a debit card or both. However generally speaking, a cheque guarantee card is not needed.

Watch out though. Short repayment periods often mean that payday loan fees can sometimes be quite high. Fees of 20 - 25 percent of the pay-day loan amount are not unusual. Also remember that you should beware of the dreaded - hidden charges.

It is safe to say that pay-day loans can be life-savers. However it also must be stated that they should only be used in moderation if you are to avoid financial disaster in the end.

Some good things to remember are that you can often still get a pay-day loan even if you already have one which has not been fully paid back. It is also normally the case that you will still be able to obtain a pay-day loan even if you have CCJ's. This is provided that you can meet the general requirements presented in this article.

So please do remember that you don't have to panic and worry until pay-day, quick cash is available from many reputable pay-day loan providers right now.