The Most Important Rule To Follow Is To Only Use Your Card Online At Trusted, Secure Sites

Category: Finance, Credit.

Many people are wary about using their credit cards, because of the, especially online possibility of becoming a victim of fraud. The most important rule to follow is to only use your card online at trusted, secure sites.

While fraud does happen, and costs hundreds of millions every year, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself and make it unlikely that you ll become a victim. - Online use. You can recognize a secure site by looking for a yellow padlock symbol appearing in your browser, and also by the address starting with https rather than http . Also make sure you re confident of the identity of the site asking for your details. Sites secured like this encrypt all the information sent back and forth to your browser, meaning that it s very dificult indeed for someone to spy out your credit card details. Avoid any sites that send you an email asking for your card details- they might not be who they claim to be. You should never give out your card details in an email, as there is no encryption involved and there s always the danger that a fraudster could intercept your message and gain your details. It s better to phone the company direct to make sure their request is genuine.

Finally in this section, make sure that your virus protection is up to date and that your computer is clean of any spyware . - Offline use. This is easier nowadays with the arrival of the handheld chip and pin input devices that are brought, to your table, for example in a restaurant. If at all possible, don t let the card out of your sight when paying, to reduce the opportunity for a fraudster to make a copy of your card. It s advisable not to send card details by fax, as you ve no control over how long the fax will be left unattended at the receiving end. Only give your credit card number over the telephone if it was you who made the call, and you re certain that you re speaking to a genuine person. A faxed copy of your card number, security code and, expiry date signature makes it altogether to easy for a scammer! If someone calls you claiming to be from a company you deal with, and asks for your details, ask for a phone number to call them back on- via a switchboard operator if possible- and verify that the number is correct. - General.

You should sign any new or replacement cards as soon as you receive them, and cut up the expired cards making sure to cut through the magnetic band on the back. There are several other measures you can take to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of credit card fraud, and most them are pretty much common sense. Never keep your pin numbers written down in your wallet or purse, as if you lose it or it s stolen a fraudster will have both your cards and their pins. Open your statements and bills as soon as you receive them, and check them carefully for anything you don t recognise. Also, report any stolen or lost cards to the issuer immediately, so that they can be cancelled before falling into the wrong hands. If you spot something you re unsure of, call your card company straight away and ask them for more details. Never simply throw them away- they contain far too much valuable information that can be used for fraud purposes.

After checking your statements, either file them away somewhere safe, or shred or burn them. All this might seem like a lot of work, but remember that with most credit card accounts you won t be held liable for any fraudulent use so long as the fraud hasn t happened through your own negligence. Following the steps above is very powerful evidence to the card issuer that you ve done everything possible to protect your account s security, so if you re unfortunate to become a fraud victim then the financial damage to you will be kept as small as possible.

Read more...

In Today S World, Credit Card Has Become The Most Popular Form Of Payment - Nannie Malina's Finance and Credit blog:

In today s world, credit card has become the most popular form of payment. The flexibility of paying online through a credit card is one of the most valuable features that are very much appealing to so many people, thus making things easier.