A credit card may be your gateway to online shopping, reward points, cash back, impulsive buying, spending when you don’t have cash and a lot more. But have you thought for a moment that your credit card can be subject to fraud or misuse?
You may be boasting about your massive credit card limit right now, but for all you know you may be sorry for yourself later if your card has been subject to fraud. Although there is no way you can permanently eliminate the risk of fraud on your credit card, there are ways you can avoid or reduce the risk. Let’s find out how.
Contents
Never give out your credit card details in emails
Are you thinking "Why would I ever do that?" Well you’d be surprised because many people often are misled into believing that credible sources are asking for their credit card details. A recent email scam in India asked recipients to provide credit card numbers so that the RBI can credit tax refund to their accounts. So watch out for dubious emails that ask for such details.
If you are not sure, simply pick up the phone and call the relevant company or service provider and report to them that you have received such an email on their behalf.
Shop online with caution
This tip to avoid credit card fraud is for all you folks who love to do a bit of online shopping. Nothing wrong with that. Simply make sure that you use your credit card for online shopping on safe and well known portals.
Wherever you shop, make sure that the website is legit, recommended, well known and the address of the payment page starts with "https" rather than simply "http". What it essentially means is that it is a secure site, and has a very little chance of someone snooping in on your private data!
Register for transaction alerts
Transaction alerts are SMSes sent by banks to your mobile phone whenever there is a transaction on your card. If you have opened a new account, chances are that you are already registered for transaction alerts on your mobile phone. In case you are not signed up, we suggest that you call your bank today and get registered. This way, you will get to know immediately if there have been any suspicious purchases on your accounts. According to me this is a MUST – It sure will save you a lot of headache later, just incase there are any unauthorized transactions
Scratch out your CVV number
One of the first things you should do when you receive your credit card is memorize the CVV number and scratch it out. The CVV number is the last 3 digits of the numbers at the back of your credit card.
Remember, even if someone has your credit card number and expiry date, they will not be able to complete most online transactions without the CVV number. When you scratch out your CVV number, the chances of fraud on your credit card are greatly reduced.
Shred all those photocopies
Do you have unwanted photocopies of your identity documents lying around the house? We suggest you start shredding them right away because such copies make it easier for fraudsters to get hold of your personal information.
Even when you go to the local photocopy shop to get a copy of a document like your passport, license, etc, make sure that the person attending the photocopy machine takes out the exact number of copies that you need.
When in doubt, report immediately
Many banks and credit card providers give customers the benefit of Zero liability once a credit card has been reported stolen or lost. So if you can’t find your credit card or you think it has been stolen, call your bank immediately. If you don’t, your bank may refuse to take full liability of the fraud on your credit card.
So, there you have it – If you take care of above things, you can avert 99 percent credit card frauds that happen.
So you have any more tips to add to these ? Let us know in comments so other readers can benefit from it!
@ankan. I agree with you, from last two days i’m visiting this blog regularly. Very useful blog
This is good blog. And it is more informative.
It is nice and useful..