Tips To Avoid Credit Card Theft
#idtheft
#identitytheft
Nearly everyone has at least one credit card these days, if not multiple cards, and we depend upon them to buy everything we use on a daily basis. Think of the last time you wrote a check for groceries. Most people don't even carry enough cash to buy a burger at a drive-through!
Thieves and identity thieves know this and are targeting the retail industry with renewed vigor (see http://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/lockpos-malware-sneaks-onto-kernel-via-new-injection-technique/d/d-id/1330757).
For most of us consumers, we are not aware of -- nor need to be aware of -- the "back office" workings of the industry, yet we ultimately are the ones affected by these dangers and have to be proactive in protecting our credit. While I'm quick to encourage you to enroll in an identity theft protection service, why wait until your account is compromised? These services, while they might ward off a compromise, have their strength and main value in preventing non-credit identity theft and in identity restoration. If you've ever had a credit card blocked or turned off because of a false charge on it, you know how inconvenient it is to your lifestyle, waiting for a new card to be issued, then notifying all the auto-deduct accounts of the new card number.
Here are a few tips that might help you keep those cards healthy:
1. Set up text or email alerts. Most credit card vendors will let you establish alerts under certain conditions, such as online transactions, or purchases exceeding a pre-arranged amount. In my case, if I or my wife purchase something online, or through an auto-deduct arrangement, I am emailed an alert immediately. As long as I recognize the purchase, no problem, but if I am not aware of it, I can quickly contact the credit card company to get them to stop the transaction or close the card.
2. Check the balances of bank and credit card accounts often. Many of these vendors have apps that you can download and run quickly to verify balances. Just make sure your smartphone has security on it to prevent misuse of these apps, should it be stolen itself!
3. Periodically change your account passwords and card PINs. Yes, this is cumbersome, especially changing a card PIN, but it can help to minimize account compromise. I highly recommend password manager services like LastPass or IDShield Vault to help with this.
4. Before you travel out of state or out of the country, let your creditors know your plans, so they don't misconstrue your traveling with a stolen card or account. They might turn off your card if they think it has been compromised, which could make your travel difficult. (While watching for bad charges helps you, remember that the card company usually absorbs a bad charge instead of going after the thief, so they are really protecting themselves, also.)
5. It is also a good idea to make copies or scans of the front and back of your cards. If your cards are physically stolen, you can refer back to these copies to contact the creditor (account bills and even online web pages rarely display the full account or card number anymore). If you are traveling, give these copies to a trusted friend or relative, in case you have problems while away.
Bottom line, it is important to stay alert at all times to unusual activity or "things that just don't seem right". With the Equifax breach, along with a record amount of other breaches last year, email addresses and friends lists are spoofed, so you can't always trust social media methods of communicating. I recently had this happen to me through Facebook Messenger. Thieves of these breaches may sit on stolen data for months, so if you've not seen any problem yet, that doesn't mean you won't eventually. Remember: much of that data won't change over time.
#identitytheft
Nearly everyone has at least one credit card these days, if not multiple cards, and we depend upon them to buy everything we use on a daily basis. Think of the last time you wrote a check for groceries. Most people don't even carry enough cash to buy a burger at a drive-through!
Thieves and identity thieves know this and are targeting the retail industry with renewed vigor (see http://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/lockpos-malware-sneaks-onto-kernel-via-new-injection-technique/d/d-id/1330757).
For most of us consumers, we are not aware of -- nor need to be aware of -- the "back office" workings of the industry, yet we ultimately are the ones affected by these dangers and have to be proactive in protecting our credit. While I'm quick to encourage you to enroll in an identity theft protection service, why wait until your account is compromised? These services, while they might ward off a compromise, have their strength and main value in preventing non-credit identity theft and in identity restoration. If you've ever had a credit card blocked or turned off because of a false charge on it, you know how inconvenient it is to your lifestyle, waiting for a new card to be issued, then notifying all the auto-deduct accounts of the new card number.
Here are a few tips that might help you keep those cards healthy:
1. Set up text or email alerts. Most credit card vendors will let you establish alerts under certain conditions, such as online transactions, or purchases exceeding a pre-arranged amount. In my case, if I or my wife purchase something online, or through an auto-deduct arrangement, I am emailed an alert immediately. As long as I recognize the purchase, no problem, but if I am not aware of it, I can quickly contact the credit card company to get them to stop the transaction or close the card.
2. Check the balances of bank and credit card accounts often. Many of these vendors have apps that you can download and run quickly to verify balances. Just make sure your smartphone has security on it to prevent misuse of these apps, should it be stolen itself!
3. Periodically change your account passwords and card PINs. Yes, this is cumbersome, especially changing a card PIN, but it can help to minimize account compromise. I highly recommend password manager services like LastPass or IDShield Vault to help with this.
4. Before you travel out of state or out of the country, let your creditors know your plans, so they don't misconstrue your traveling with a stolen card or account. They might turn off your card if they think it has been compromised, which could make your travel difficult. (While watching for bad charges helps you, remember that the card company usually absorbs a bad charge instead of going after the thief, so they are really protecting themselves, also.)
5. It is also a good idea to make copies or scans of the front and back of your cards. If your cards are physically stolen, you can refer back to these copies to contact the creditor (account bills and even online web pages rarely display the full account or card number anymore). If you are traveling, give these copies to a trusted friend or relative, in case you have problems while away.
Bottom line, it is important to stay alert at all times to unusual activity or "things that just don't seem right". With the Equifax breach, along with a record amount of other breaches last year, email addresses and friends lists are spoofed, so you can't always trust social media methods of communicating. I recently had this happen to me through Facebook Messenger. Thieves of these breaches may sit on stolen data for months, so if you've not seen any problem yet, that doesn't mean you won't eventually. Remember: much of that data won't change over time.
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