Protecting your Debit and Credit Cards

Protecting Your Debit and Credit Cards

The best protections against card fraud are to know where your cards are at
all times and to keep them secure. For protection of ATM and debit cards
that involve a Personal Identification Number (PIN), keep your PIN a secret.

Don’t use your address, birthdate, phone or Social Security number as the
PIN and do memorize the number.

The following suggestions may help you protect your credit card and your
ATM or debit card accounts.

For Credit and ATM or Debit Cards:

Be cautious about disclosing your account number over the phone unless
you know you’re dealing with a reputable company.

Never put your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a
postcard.

Draw a line through blank spaces on charge or debit slips above the total
so the amount cannot be changed.

Don’t sign a blank charge or debit slip.

Tear up carbons and save your receipts to check against your monthly
statements.

Cut up old cards — cutting through the account number — before disposing
of them.

Open monthly statements promptly and compare them with your receipts.
Report mistakes or discrepancies as soon as possible to the special
address listed on your statement for inquiries. Under the FCBA (credit cards)
and the EFTA (ATM or debit cards), the card issuer must investigate errors
reported to them within 60 days of the date your statement was mailed to you.

Keep a record — in a safe place separate from your cards — of your account
numbers, expiration dates, and the telephone numbers of each card issuer
so you can report a loss quickly.

Carry only those cards that you anticipate you’ll need.

For ATM or Debit Cards:

Don’t carry your PIN in your wallet or purse or write it on your ATM or debit
card.

Never write your PIN on the outside of a deposit slip, an envelope, or other
papers that could be easily lost or seen.

Carefully check ATM or debit card transactions before you enter the PIN or
before you sign the receipt; the funds for this item will be fairly quickly
transferred out of your checking or other deposit account.

Periodically check your account activity. This is particularly important if you
bank online. Compare the current balance and recent withdrawals or
transfers to those you’ve recorded, including your current ATM and debit
card withdrawals and purchases and your recent checks. If you notice
transactions you didn’t make, or if your balance has dropped suddenly
without activity by you, immediately report the problem to your card issuer.
Someone may have co-opted your account information to commit fraud.

So far, in the past three posts we have talked about lost or stolen credit
and debit cards, fraudulent charges and in this post how to protect your
cards. Join us in our next post as we wrap this up with buying a
Registration Service and all the contact numbers and info you may need.

Sincerely,

Trapper

PS…do you have your FREE ID Theft available at:

http://www.personalsafetyebook.com/PPP.html