Wondering just how to prevent credit card fraud?
Identity theft is quickly becoming one of the most common, and most dangerous, crimes throughout the world.
People lose thousands of dollars, if not years of savings, resulting into severe damage to their credit and reputations.
The most common type of identity theft is fraudulent use of credit cards. This occurs when individuals with criminal intent use your credit card
to make unauthorized transactions, or sign up for a new credit card in your name.
Here are a few simple yet effective tips that can help you prevent credit card related fraud from happening to you:
1. Never share your card details
Keeping your card digits to yourself is without doubt the most effective way of preventing fraudsters from stealing your card information.
Never allow anyone to access your card number or borrow your card.
Most credit card fraud happens because card owners do not pay close enough attention to who is in possession of their card, and what they are doing with it. Always keep an eye on your card at all times.
For instance, when you are at the restaurant or retail store, ensure that no one can inappropriately handle
your card when processing your transaction.
For example, if the waitress takes your card to swipe it, be sure to keep an eye out for improper usage of your card.
For this reason, it may be better to carry cash when dining out or going to a bar. This way you don't have to let someone else handle your card which allows more opportunity for credit card fraud.
2. Destroy any receipt with your credit card details on it
While it is now a law in most states that transaction receipts should not contain any more than the last three or four digits of your card number,
that is really not an assurance that the vendor cannot retain your card number in their system.
When making purchases using your card, always ensure that no card receipt is left behind;
you just do not know who might get a hold of it. Be sure to keep all your receipts and shred them once you no longer need them.
3. Destroy any credit card application
Think about all those credit card applications that you receive via mail each month.
All these are potential invitations that fraudsters can easily prey on.
They can easily retrieve these forms from your mailbox or trash can, fill them up and obtain a credit card under your name.
To reduce chances of falling victim to credit card fraud, be sure to check your mailbox everyday and be sure to shred any unwanted application before discarding it.
4. Never transact business with insecure websites
The internet has the reputation of being fertile ground for identity thieves who are always on the look out for information to steal.
While it is always better to be safe rather than sorry, most people usually overlook the level of lawlessness that exists online.
So, before making any transaction online, ensure that the connection is secure and that you completely trust the vendor you are giving your
credit card information to.
How do you make sure the connection is secure? Take a look at your browser and you should find 'https' instead of only
'http' as the beginning of the url address. If the 's' is missing, then your connection is not secure.
5. Always review your account statement
Always perceived as the last resort to avoiding credit card fraud, a word by word review of your statement is a surefire way
of detecting any irregular transactions before it is too late.
By taking a simple step of questioning any irregular transaction with your issuing bank, you will be able to stop fraud right away.
On the other hand, using your card without scrutinizing the entries into your account is a sure way of becoming a long-term victim of fraud.
Identity theft is all too common these days. As a major aspect of identity theft, credit card fraud can be easily prevented by understanding how fraudsters practice their game.
This way, you will be able to take the basic precautions to protect your identity and hard earned money.
