Fraud Prevention: Knowing Credit Card Do’s and Don’ts
Posted by | Posted in Financial News | Posted on 03-04-2010
Why is fraud protection and knowing credit card do’s and don’ts super important to know. Well for those who such as an identity thief what is better than cash, I will tell you it is your cash? A stolen credit card is the answer for all of you who may be at risk of potentially having your credit cards stolen and used but the sad part is that you will be left with the bill and these thieves will off before you are even aware of it . This situation has worsened since the introduction of online shopping and will definitely require fast credit repair.
As such, it’s wise to be proactive in preventing such thing from happening to you. Furthermore, the responsibility always lies with credit card holders to safeguard their credit cards.
Here is a list of important fraud prevention credit card Do’s and Don’ts to safeguard your credit card.
Credit Card DO’s…
-Always treat your cards like cash.
-Keep your card number confidential.
-Sign up your new cards as soon as they arrive and cut up the old cards when they expire.
-Sign your credit card in permanent ink as soon as you receive it.
-When making a purchase, ensure that the salesperson processes your transaction in your presence.
-Check your card when it is returned to you by the cashier to ensure that it is yours and that it has not been tampered with any way.
-Total your charge slip before signing in, as blank spaces serve as an invitation for unscrupulous individuals to ass additional amounts.
-Always retain your receipts so that you can check them against your statement.
-If unfamiliar transactions are posted on your statement, inform your card issuer straight away.
-Keep your statements in a safe place – they contain sensitive information.
-Before discarding old credit card statements, even of closed accounts, shred them into small pieces.
-Inform the credit card issuer when you are traveling overseas.
-Notify credit card issuer of any change of address, so new credit cards/statements are not sent to the old mailing address.
-Should your credit card be stolen or is lost, inform credit card issuer immediately. Always keep your credit card issuer contact number at hand.
-Only provide your SSN (Social Security Number) and credit card information to parties with whom you have initiated the call.
Credit Card Don’ts…
-Never allow anyone else to use your credit card at any time. It is yours and yours alone so you should not share it with anyone.
-Never write your personal identification number(PIN) on your credit card where it could be found easily.
-That way you can avoid any unauthorized cash withdrawals from the automated teller machine(ATM) transactions
-Do not give any credit card information to individuals soliciting sales over the phone.
-If you receive calls from a party claiming to be your credit card issuer and the caller requests for your account number, do not give it. If the call is from your credit card issuer, the caller would know your account number.
-Do not sign a blank charge slip, draw a line through the lines above the total amount and destroy any carbon and canceled receipts immediately.
-Do not leave expired credit cards lying around.
Fraud Prevention and Knowing Credit Card Do’s and Don’ts will help you in the long run. Credit cards are certainly a privilege to have and should be kept close to you at all times.
