Tips For Avoiding Your Credit Card Information Being Stolen

When it comes to one of the worst things that can happen to you as a consumer, it’s getting your private information like your credit card number stolen.  When this happens it puts you at risk for not only getting your entire identity stolen, but you could potentially get into legal issues as a result.

Rather than letting yourself fall victim to credit card fraud, take the following measures to avoid it happening altogether.

Never Give Your Information Through Email

Remember, depending on your email provider and internet connection, you can’t be assured that your emails are encrypted.  Therefore, it’s best to avoid sending sensitive information such as social security numbers and credit card numbers over email.

If you do this, you risk a criminal intercepting the message and taking your details for their own use.

Only Use Secure Websites

One of the golden rules for giving out your credit card information is to only give your credit card information through a secured server on a verified website.  This way you eliminate the risk of potentially being hacked, or it falling into the wrong hands by other means.

One of the best ways to know if a website is secure is to look for the icon which claims so.  You should also only use websites which are well known and used amongst your friends and family.  By using websites which have a strong reputation as opposed to obscure websites you’ve never heard of, you are limiting your risk of fraud.

Check Your Account Activity Regularly

Make sure that you keep an eye on your account transactions regularly on your banking account.  This way you can keep a vigilant eye on any suspicious activity.  You never know when someone could be making bogus charges on your card if you never check your activity.

Therefore, try to make it a habit to look for charges which are suspicious to avoid being stolen from.

Additionally, you may want to sign up for extra security protection.  Often banks or third parties will offer special monitoring to keep an eye on transactions which fall out of your normal spending patterns.  In the event that a red flag comes up on your account, your funds will be frozen and you’ll have to call to do a security check to confirm whether it was a valid transaction or not.

Be Careful When Giving Information Over The Phone

One of the ways that many criminals get their hands on people’s credit card information is by calling over the phone and pretending to be their financial institution.

Remember, your financial institution or any legitimate business which you are subscribed to will never ask for sensitive information over an email, and rarely over the phone.  Therefore, if this ever happens, ask to call them back on the number provided on the website rather than doing it over an incoming call.