How to avoid credit card fraud

Having a credit card entails self-discipline and responsibility. You have an obligation to protect yourself from credit card frauds.

08:53 29 September 2013

To avoid being victimized of credit card fraud, the following practices will help you lower the chances of credit card frauds:

 

• Never divulge information about your card especially your personal identification number or PIN code.  When your credit card was issued, you were provided with a preset PIN code which you may change soon after you received your card. This serves as a security measure so that nobody could use your credit card but you. When you divulge this PIN code to anybody and stole your card, he may use it to no end and you may be forced to settle everything that he has purchased using your card.

 

• Never lose sight of your credit card every time you use it for your purchases. Whenever you use your card for payments, you should not lose sight where the staffs bring your card. There is the possibility of it getting skimmed by copying the information in the magnetic strip of your card. Cases like this should be reported as soon as possible to prevent unauthorized purchases. 

 

• Every time you receive your billing statement, check it for unauthorized charges. It is only you who could determine if the charges on your statement are true and accurate.

 

• Discard carefully all your payment receipts. Some information about your card is printed on your receipts. Discard these receipts so that the chance that your credit card will be used illegally gets slimmer.

 

• Never use your credit card for online purchases from suspicious websites.  Verify whether the website is secured before making any purchases.

 

• For your online purchases, it would be best to have additional security measure. For extra security, your card provider may provide a security code before payment is finalized. If the card user failed to give the security code for online shopping, the purchase will not push through.