Credit card users warned of scams amid shift to security chip cards

NEW YORK (KTRK) -- If you're a credit card user, you either have or will be getting new cards with security chips. They are designed to protect you against fraud, but scammers are already tying to exploit them.

"It's the biggest change in the way we use credit cards in decades, and people aren't ready yet. There's a lot of confusion out there," Matt Schulz tells CNN.

And its that confusion that's helping thieves get access to your bank accounts. They are posing as banks and credit card issuers are calling and emailing people, telling them they need their valuable personal information in order to issue a new chip-enabled card.

The Attorney General's Office says banks and card issuers will never contact you by phone or email to request personal information. In most cases, they'll simply automatically send you the new chip-enabled card.

If you're not sure if the call or email is legit, you can always hang up or delete it and contact your bank or credit card company directly yourself.