SECURITY FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD SAFETY
1. Credit card Receipts
Carefully discard receipts from card transactions and ATMs once you have checked these against your statement. Your credit card receipt often contain all the information required to perform a fraudulent transaction, you name, the card number, and the expiry date are all on there. Even if some receipts have 4 of the card numbers blocked out, another receipt may have 4 different numbers blocked out, so anyone rummaging through your bin could easily put the jigsaw back together and get your whole credit card number. Credit card receipts are a big security issue which should not be taken lightly.
2. Credit Card Copying
People often worry about online credit card security, however at places like restaurants and cafés your card security is in question. Try not to let your credit card get out of sight. Often cards are duplicated whilst the customer isn’t looking, as it only takes a few seconds. This credit card duplication is known as ‘skimming’, and it takes all your credit card details allowing another one to be created to be used at leisure
3. Losing your Credit Card
If your card is lost or stolen notify your credit card provider immediately. Once you have informed them, you are no longer liable for any transactions that occur on your card. The maximum amount you will be liable for is 50 pounds, and if any fraudulent transactions happen whilst the card is ‘not present’, i.e any postal, telephone, or internet transactions, then you aren’t liable for a penny.
4. Spare Credit Cards Abroad
When travelling abroad, or on holiday in the UK, try to keep two different credit cards in different places. Perhaps put one credit card secure in the hotel safe, at least then if your wallet is stolen, with one credit card in it, then you will have the other one safely back in the hotel, so you can enjoy your spending without having to worry about receiving a replacement credit card. Of course remember to cancel the cards that you had stolen!
5. Credit Card Usage Abroad
When going on holiday, or planning a very large spending spree it is worth phoning your credit card company and informing them that there will be some ‘unusual’ spending on your credit card. Otherwise the credit card companies own security measures may flag up some security warnings and bar any transactions from your card. Particularly embarrassing when trying to pay the hotel bill or an expensive dinner bill!
6. Safe Internet Shopping
Perhaps suprisingly the best way to pay for goods over the internet is with your credit card as the transaction security is safer than handing your card over to a random shop assistant or waiter, and if you encounter any problems with your internet order (e.g. goods not delivered, incorrect amount taken, the company ‘disappearing’) then it is the credit card company that is liable for all losses. This is not necessarily the case if you pay with things via debit card.
7. Credit Card Minders
If you have a lot of credit cards in your wallet it may be worth taking out a credit card cancellation scheme. In this scheme you pay a company a small annual fee, and you give them all your important card details (generally credit cards and debit cards). If your cards are stolen then you simply make one phone call to this company and they will sort out cancelling and re-ordering all your cards for you, taking some of the stress out of your credit card theft/loss
8. Destroy Old Credit Cards
Always destroy credit cards when they expire by cutting them in half through the magnetic strip.
9. Use Chip-and-Pin
The UK is introducing a new Credit Card Security measure, whereby instead of having to sign your credit card receipt, you have to type a 4 digit PIN into the machine accepting your credit card transaction. Although this means you will have another PIN to remember it will hopefully reduce the number of fraudulent credit card uses...