Protecting your Debit and Credit Cards

Protecting Debit and Credit Cards

· The most effective forms of protection against credit or debit card fraud are to keep your cards secure and know where they are located at all times. To protect cards, such as ATM cards or debit cards, that use a Personal Identification Number, you must keep your code secret and unique. Avoid using your address number, your birthdate, a phone or Social Security number as the PIN.

Protection Methods for Credit Cards

· Be cautious when revealing your credit card number over the phone or online; when purchasing an item or service online or over the phone, be sure that the medium and company used is reputable and offers a secure site or merchant.

· Never place your account number on an envelope, receipt, postcard or any other document that may be visible to numerous parties.

· Draw liens through blank spaces on receipts or debit slips above the total amount so the number may not be changed

· Never sign a blank charge or debit slip

· Tear up carbons and always save your receipts to ensure that your monthly statements reflect your accurate expenditures

· Cut up old cards before disposing them to ensure that information cannot end up in the wrong hands

· Be sure to observe your monthly statements in a prompt fashion. Any reports or discrepancies on the statements should be reported as quickly as possible to the address listed on your statement. Based on the FCBA and the EFTA, the card issuer must investigate all errors reported to them within 60 days of the date your statement was mailed to you.

· Keep records of your account numbers, telephone numbers of each card issuer and expiration dates in a safe place. By storing this information you will be able to access vital information to promptly report a card lost or stolen.

· You should check your account activity periodically to ensure that the account was not breached and the funds were not fraudulently accessed.

· For annual fees, registration services will notify the issuers of your debit or credit card if your card is missing or stolen. As oppose to calling each individual issuer, these services enable an individual to make only phone call to report the misplacement or loss of numerous cards.

· If you have lost or had your credit/debit card stolen, you must notify the issuer of the card immediately. The majority of small purchases and some merchants will not require proof of identification when purchasing an item or good. As a result of this, when an individual finds a lost card or steals one, they are able to immediately access the funds attached to the card. This scary notion places an importance on time; when you notice your card missing, you must immediately report it lost or stolen to close the account and subsequently halt the activity attached to it.