Twenty Cent Credit Card Charges Alerted Feds To Criminal Ring

Clark Howard describes why it's important to review each charge on your credit card statement even if it's small:

The crooks set up fake companies and got merchant privileges because of the loose regulations in the banking industry. Then they started putting through $9 charges on an untold number of accounts. Virtually no one ever noticed the $9 charges.

The New York Times reports that success with the $9 charges apparently emboldened the criminals. Next, they started pushing through 20-cent charges. Well, people noticed that.