Your Personal Identification Number (PIN) is located on the back of your credit card in the strip provided for a signature. When you purchase something on-line or over the phone, you are frequently asked for your credit card PIN number. This is to ensure that you have the card in your possession and that someone is not using a number obtained from the theft of mail, a receipt or other illegal source. If you initiate a purchase on-line or on the phone, it is OK to reveal your PIN when finalizing the purchase.  However, never reveal your PIN under the following circumstances.

A common scam to obtain PINs involves a person pretending to be a security or fraud investigator from your credit card company. They will ask you about a fraudulent purchase in an attempt to gain your trust, and then ask you a series of questions, including asking for your PIN. Once a scammer has your credit card and PIN, your account is compromised and may incur fraudulent charges.

If you encounter a caller asking a lot of questions, ask for his or her name and phone number and do not give out any personal information.  Call your credit card company using the toll-free number on the back of your card and verify that the person who called you was actually from your credit card company. If the call was a scam, you have nothing to worry about, as none of your information was provided to the scammer.