If they are no longer a Capital One credit card holder, they will receive a check in the mail.

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When the company discovers an exposed credit card number, it notifies Scotland Yard, which then sends the information to banks who presumably close the account and notify the credit card holder.

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Amazon, for example, utilizes an IP address locator, to check to see whether the computer someone is using to make a purchase is in a location that makes sense for that credit card holder, says Brady.

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Over 170 million people in the U.S. have credit cards, and the average card holder has 3.5 of them.

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One of the latest to go on the market is the ComPass Card in Hong Kong, which works as a credit card, a bank and supermarket card, and even awards bonus points on the holder's birthday.

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Customers run their credit card or customer card through the a smart-card holder installed at the pump.

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In those cases, a centralized, powerful stakeholder (the credit card company) is motivated to get the compromised account off the street fast, and re-empower the account holder to get back on the street and shopping again.

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