If you get your credit card stolen, your credit card company is often not going to hold you accountable for the charges. However, it can be a nightmare dealing with the company and getting access to your card again. This is why you should take steps to protect yourself from credit card fraud.
Protect Yourself from Phishing Scams
Phishing scams trick you into giving your personal information to hackers. This includes your credit card number and login credentials. Phishing scams happen by phone, mail, email, or text. Scammers use something you trust, like familiar logos and companies you likely work with.
Protect yourself by being on guard against requests for personal information. It does not matter the source. If a financial institution emails you requesting your information and you think the email is legitimate, search for the financial institution’s phone number online and call them to verify the request.
Identity Skimming
This kind of fraud is typically the most frustrating form of identity theft because it happens right in front of your face. You are performing a normal purchase transaction. As you swipe your card, the cashier swipes your card, or you put your card into the ATM, a machine is stealing your credentials and giving them to someone who will then use them to make online purchases.
Think twice before using your credit card at an unattended ATM to save yourself from disappointment. If the card slot looks unusual, walk away. Alert a bank employee. EMV chips on credit cards are improving security. But you should know that no technology can 100 percent prevent someone from skimming your card.
Have One Card Set Up for Auto Pay and Another for Daily Spending
This is not so much a tip to prevent fraud but instead to make dealing with fraud easier. Have one card that you use for all your automatic payments. Never take it anywhere. Have another card that you take with you and swipe at restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, etc. This way, if you receive notification from credit fraud monitoring services that there has been some fraud, you won’t have to go through the frustrating process of re-setting up your automatic payments.
Try Paying with Your Mobile Device
Android Pay and Apple Pay use tokenization technology on every payment transaction. The merchant never gets your personal information. Additionally, your phone is password protected. It is impossible to use without unlocking it. Newer phones require biometric identification, like fingerprints, making them even harder to open.
Get the Little Things Right
According to the professionals at IDShield, “The most common type of identity theft is credit card fraud.” Keeping an eye on the little things is the best way to save yourself from being taken advantage of.
Don’t put credit card information on social media. Don’t let other people use your credit card. Don’t do credit card transactions on public Wi-Fi. Ensure that your online passwords are strong
If you get these little things right, you will minimize the risk of credit card fraud. You protect your finances and future.
