How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud

credit card paymentTips on Protecting yourself from Scammers

Credit card fraud is becoming the most common instance of identity theft. Just as its popularity has grown, especially among working adults, the risk of becoming a victim to credit card fraud has multiplied.

While one cannot completely avoid the risk of fraud, you can take these precautionary measures to avoid falling prey as far as possible

DOs

  • Sign the back of your card the moment you receive the card. Signed cards are less likely to be stolen or charged fraudulently.
  • Keep your credit card company’s hotline number to call in case your credit card is stolen. Immediately reporting a lost card to your card issuer can help prevent unauthorized charges on your card.
  • Open your bills right away. Keep your receipts and reconcile them with the ones you see on your statement to check if there are discrepancies in the bill.
  • Make sure you check on the details of every transaction slip before signing. And never sign any blank receipt when paying in-store.
  • Limit your credit card use to one card as much as possible to make it easy to monitor your spending and identify any misuse.
  • Keep your receipts secure. Social engineers, scammers can easily use all the small pieces of information in your card and use them to commit fraudulent transactions online or in-store.
  • Report any questionable charges to your bank promptly.

DON’Ts

  • Never give out your credit card information like name or card number to anyone other than those you trust like a your phone company that makes use of your credit card info for verification and payment. If you are giving it to a company the first time make sure you’ve done your research first to see if complaints against this company abound.
  • Never let others use your card. If you must, make sure you do it on their behalf and verify payment as soon as transaction has been made.

If you don’t have one yet, use our comparison table to compare credit cards and find which one is suitable for you!

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