You Can Avert Some Credit Card Fraud : Hints include making numbers on receipt unreadable before tossing it into the trash

The recent arrests of two San Fernando Valley men as part of a 13-month federal undercover operation involving 19,119 bogus credit cards, 100,000 account numbers, and 124 counterfeiting devices highlights two things. Southern California is indeed the capital of white-collar scams, and the Valley is definitely a hotbed of credit card fraud.

Today, victims rarely lose large sums of money when their credit card account numbers are illegally used. Monetary liability is limited to $50 per card. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be headaches down the line, in terms of damaged credit ratings.

Some fraud is unavoidable. Consider, for example, the members of a posh Valley Country Club who were victimized when stolen financial information was used to issue bogus credit cards in their names.

But there are simple and inexpensive procedures that can minimize risk, and federal and local authorities say the precautions are too often ignored. Well, here they are.

Never throw credit card receipts in the trash. The folks going through your garbage might be after more than aluminum cans. Shred, burn or rip up the receipts first. Receive another unwanted pre-approved credit card offer? Rip it up.

Filling up at the gas station with your credit card? Don’t leave the receipt behind. And if you’re still carrying a portfolio of credit cards, periodically check to make sure you still have all of them.

The rest of the best advice: Never give out credit card numbers over the telephone, unless you know you are dealing with a reputable company; never reply to mail offers for free prizes and gifts with your credit card number; don’t just cut up expired credit cards, make sure the numbers cannot be read, and at the store and the restaurant, wait until you are ready to pay. Don’t leave your card exposed on tables or cashier counters. The account number can be copied.

If your card billing statement hasn’t arrived, or does not reflect the payment you know you made on time, call the issuer immediately and consider closing the account. Never leave a credit card bill payment in a nearly full mailbox; the latest rage is to break into the boxes, acid wash the checks, and rewrite the “pay to the order of” line. In the meantime, your credit card account number has also been obtained.

None of these precautions will knock California off its dubious perch as the world headquarters of credit card fraud, but they might just help you avoid a few unnecessary headaches.