Credit Card Fraud: How To Protect Yourself
How to Avoid Credit Card Fraud
Courtesy of Credit.PrivacyMatters.comSM
Credit card fraud is not a new crime. In fact, scams involving stolen credit cards began long before the Internet age. The art of trying to make money illegally (and by doing as little work as possible) is no longer a "cottage industry." Credit card fraud, telephone scams and various other forms of identity fraud — both online and through other means — have become big business.
Smart computer hackers are always busy creating ways to commit credit card and other types of identity fraud — usually using online tricks and baiting schemes to steal your personal information.
So what can you do to fight back? Start by creating your own plan, a list of best practices for beating identity thieves and online hackers at their own game.
1. Start with credit report monitoring
Credit Report Monitoring is a critical part of any credit and identity theft protection plan. Monitoring your credit at all three credit bureaus regularly, for example, can help you to minimize credit and identity theft worries and gain the peace of mind you deserve.
Credit report monitoring allows you to be proactive in fighting back against credit card hacking and other identity theft-oriented scams. Because it's an early-detection warning system for your credit, it helps you keep track of what's happening on your credit report, and it alerts you when changes occur in your personal information, accounts and payment histories and a variety of other credit report information. But while the credit report monitoring feature alerts you to the need to investigate, only you can identify and fix the potential problem.
Organizations like Privacy Matters Identity also offer an identity theft report, containing useful data from many different public databases. It's a powerful one-two punch with your credit report, and it can help stop identity theft before it happens.
2. Use other important identity theft prevention methods
Like fraud itself, credit card numbers theft wasn't something that hackers and other cyber-thieves devised recently. These opportunists spend all their "work" time contemplating the opportunities that they know you'll ultimately give them. If you carelessly provide credit card numbers and other sensitive personal information online (or over the phone or in hard copy), you may be asking for trouble. If, for example, you let hackers get hold of your Social Security number, you're giving them exactly what they want. So train yourself to be more ID theft-conscious, and focus on these additional preventative measures:- Shred your papers. How many old movies include scenes involving paper-shredding and destroying "top secret" documents? Buying a paper shredder is not only inexpensive, it's also pretty smart. Adopt a "better safe than sorry" attitude now – not later – when it comes to paper shredding. Tearing up old records and throwing them in the garbage just isn't enough.
- Make sure websites are reputable. A lot of hackers have websites out there that look real and legitimate. But they're not. If you come across a website that offers you a FREE gift or a "complimentary membership" — asking for just your Social Security number in exchange — don't be too quick to respond. The folks on the other end could be waiting to rip you off. Also, if the site lists a phone number, call it. If you're still unsure whether the site is real (and not a scam), try contacting the Better Business Bureau.
- Watch out for phishers. If you're in the habit of bookmarking websites, be careful not to bookmark those that include your personal information. Opportunistic ID thieves called "phishers" spend lots of time online "trolling" for victims. If you want to use bookmarks, make sure that none of them include live passwords, financial information or, of course, your Social Security number. Phishers are baiting their hooks right now.
Train yourself to be cautious with all your personal information
Identity theft and fraud is serious business, so you have to be your own "watchdog." As technology has evolved, computer hackers and cyber thieves just know more, and they know how to work around identity theft prevention measures. That's why you have to do your best not to leave personal information unprotected.
