How To Prevent Credit Card Theft?
Are you scared of using your credit card online because of the
increasing accounts that you hear about online credit card frauds, identity
thefts and other scams? Yes, the situation could be really scary, but do not
worry there are ways to prevent credit
card fraud. Preventing credit card
fraud is possible by following certain basic safety measures. Here are some
of the important factors for your consideration.
Get into the habit of checking
your monthly statements regularly
Many a time fraudulent credit card transactions take place for smaller
amounts whereby the credit card owner is unlikely to suspect such fraudulent
transactions especially if they use credit cards extensively. It is therefore
important to check your credit card statements regularly and match with your
expenses. If there are any items that do not match with your actual expenses
then it is important to report it immediately.
Never share your credit card
information in any instant messengers
It is highly recommended that you do not share your credit card
information online even in your instant messenger chats such as Whatsapp or
Google Hangout chats. If you are seriously looking for helpful ways on how to prevent credit card theft online
or if you are keen on avoiding identitytheft, then this is one point that you cannot afford to make mistakes.
You might have all the information available online on how to prevent credit card theft but if
you do not follow them carefully then you are subjecting yourself to
unnecessary risks. All that it takes is to keeping to few online security
basics. Here are few such basics:
-
Shop only
in trusted e-commerce websites.
-
Do not
click on dubious links that come to your mail offering exceptional discounts or
freebies.
- Check
whether the website you are using to shop is SSL protected. SSL protection
prevents third party interception during the credit card transactions.
-
If the
checkout page is not working, do not make multiple attempts, it is better to
report the problem to the online store’s customer support and shop at a
different time once the issues are resolved.
-
As much as
possible type the website address of the e-commerce site that you want to use
rather than clicking on links in your emails. The links may read one thing but
the landing page will be totally something else.
-
Always
shop only from secure computers that have antivirus, spyware and firewalls
enabled.
Rather than using credit cards online for every
purchase, you could think of third party payment processing systems, which will
reduce the number of times or the frequency at which you will be exposing your
credit card details online.
This will also minimize the risks of credit card frauds and online identity thefts. You need to however, identify the most
trusted payment processors.
There are number of trusted services such as
Skrill, PayPal, etc. Abiding by these basic safety factors will go a long way
in protecting you from online credit card frauds.