Important credit card safety tips to protect your personal information
It is essential to be proactive and keep your credit card information safe year-round to avoid identity theft.
Criminals are always searching for passwords and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).
If criminals successfully gain your personal information, it can be quite costly, according to Community Bank鈥檚 Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Jennifer George.
鈥淚f consumers don鈥檛 report fraudulent activity quickly, they could be liable,鈥� George said. 鈥淭hat means they could suffer permanent or temporary financial loss.鈥�
George and Community Bank have gathered a list of tips to help consumers safeguard their credit card information and shop with confidence.
Practice credit card protection from the start
As soon as you get a new card, be sure to sign the back, George said.
This protects you if your card is lost or stolen. Also, be sure to turn on suspicious activity alerts and choose a strong password that is unique to each account. If your account requires a PIN, don鈥檛 choose a combination that is personal to you, like your birthday or digits from your Social Security number.
Keep your account number private
Don鈥檛 let anyone see your card while you鈥檙e out in public. George said to be selective when giving your account information out over the phone; only offer it when you initiate the call and are speaking with a representative that you trust. A financial institution will not call, text or email you asking for your account information.
Always be suspicious when you receive a communication 鈥� email, text, social media message 鈥� asking for personal information or to click a suspicious link.
Consider receiving paperless statements and making payments online to remove your sensitive information from the postal system. It鈥檚 also a good idea to shred documents with sensitive personal data rather than simply throwing them in the trash.
Keep your information current
Keeping your personal information up-to-date allows your financial institution to easily and quickly contact you in the event of fraud or suspicious activity, George said. Be sure to notify your financial institution if you move or get a new number or email.
Secure your devices and network
If you allow your browser to store your credit card information, you could be vulnerable. To prevent this, consider turning off the autofill function in each browser that you use.
Also, consider using a digital wallet.
Digital wallets are payment systems housed on your smartphone that allow you to conduct electronic transactions using your credit cards quickly and securely. Because digital wallets use encryption, tokenization and authentication, they are safer than carrying your credit cards. If you do use a digital wallet, be sure your smartphone is password and fingerprint-protected and that you download an app to make it easier to find your phone in case you lose it.
Protect yourself online
It鈥檚 important to always practice basic online and mobile safety. When shopping online, be sure to look for sites with 鈥渉ttps鈥� in the web address 鈥� the s stands for secure 鈥� and the green lock icon. Also, don鈥檛 allow your credit card information to be stored on an online shopping site, and don鈥檛 shop or conduct financial transactions using public Wi-Fi.
鈥淭he number one reason for fraud is that consumers don鈥檛 use encrypted emails and secure websites,鈥� George said. 鈥淭here are a lot of scams out there and consumers need to be certain they aren鈥檛 failing victim to a fraudster.鈥�
Check your account often and report fraud right away
Reviewing your recent account activity is fundamental to credit card safety, George said. Most issuers let you set up email or text alerts. If you lose your credit card or suspect fraudulent activity, contact your financial institution or issuer right away. They can block your card and account number preventing additional fraud, and issue you a new card.
George said issuers and financial institutions are required to make consumers aware of the fraud process, but consumers are responsible for understanding the process and acting on it.
鈥淚t never hurts to call and ask your issuer about the process,鈥� George said. 鈥淐onsumers should know what to do and what to expect if they find a fraudulent purchase.鈥�