Keeping your credit card safe. Tips!

With the amount of people that have credit cards today it is wise to stay in the know of how to protect your credit cards and yourself! Here are some simple and easy to follow rules for limiting the chances of credit card fraud happening to you. The moment you get your new credit credit card in the mail… SIGN IT. Even once you sign your name to the back of the credit card also add SEE ID to the strip with your signature. This will make sure that everytime your credit card is used that the place of purchase will be required to see your picture ID along with the matching of signatures. Be careful when making electronic cash withdrawels. When taking money out of an ATM or using your debit card for purchases anywhere make sure that you enter your PIN in such a way that no one can see it and so noone can chart the strokes of your keys. You wouldnt believe how many times people openly punch in their secret pin numbers so that anyone and everyone can see. This makes you a walking target for identity theft and credit card fraud. NEVER EVER walk away from an ATM with your money but without your receipt. These receipts contain your bank account number, name, even amount of money in your account. You should also never throw away your receipts inside a public trash can, especially one right beside the ATM machine used. Never tell someone your credit card information over the phone unless you are the one making the call. If it is an incoming call DO NOT disclose any personal information. Too many times this is a credit card scam and is simply someone phishing for your account numbers and personal information. Even if you initiated a previous telephone call having to do with your credit card, make sure you always practice credit card safety. There are too many scams out there! One such scam is when your phone will immediately call you “back” and someone on the other end will be claiming to be from the merchant you just hung up with. They will frequently say something along the lines of that there was a random problem with your credit card number and they will then ask you to repeat the credit card number once more to confirm they have the correct card number. No matter how convincing they appear…hang up. If you would like after ending that phone call you can then call the merchant back again to establish if this claim is legitimate or not. When making purchases make sure you pay attention and never leave your credit card behind. Stay focused when making purchases and never take your eyes off of your credit card. Leaving a card behind for someone else to find could be highly costly to you and your finances. Always know exactly how many credit cards you have at one time. Have their card numbers written down and stored safely at home and always monitor how much of a balance you owe on each card. Never discard your credit card statments without shredding first. This is another reason why on-line bill pay is great. No paper trail. Always review your monthly statements in order to make sure that no surprise charges occur and that you have actually made all of the charges that you are being billed for. If anything seems out of the norm or if you do not recognize even one charge- call your credit card company immediately. Noticing something as small as one odd purchase could stop a chain reaction before it even begins.

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