Importance of Safeguarding Credit Card Information and Personal Data
The holidays represent a time of extreme spending and frenzy. If you are in a hurry to complete your holiday shopping while planning parties and other festivities, you might not pay as much attention to your finances or suspicious charges. Fraudsters know this and take advantage of this busy time and increase their criminal activity during the holiday season. They know that you do not have extra time to analyze your transactions at this time of year when you have a higher volume of them.
Federal regulations protect against fraud, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to waste your time clearing up the matter. Avoid credit card fraud altogether this holiday season and skip the need to clear up the mess in the New Year. Below, we discuss what you need to know about avoiding credit card fraud this holiday season.
While more credit card fraud occurs during the holidays than at other times of the year, you will want to safeguard your credit card information and personal data year-round. If fraudsters get a hold of your credit card information, they can make unauthorized purchases and cash advances. This can deprive you of the funds you need for the holiday season and may result in you going over your credit limits, which may adversely affect your credit score.
If a fraudster obtains your personal data, you may have even bigger problems to deal with, including identity theft. Anyone who has gone through this experience can attest to the frustrations and long-lasting impacts that victims of identity theft encounter because of identity theft. You will likely have to file a police report, prepare multiple affidavits, talk to your financial institutions and creditors, request a credit freeze, and take on several other tasks to try to distinguish between your own credit activity and that of the identity thief. This process can take years to complete.
Common Types of Credit Card Fraud Schemes During the Holiday Season
While credit card fraud can happen during any time of year, some scams that occur more often during the holiday season include the following:
-
E-commerce fraud – Because many shoppers prefer to shop online and this activity will likely increase during the holiday season of 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, security experts expect higher instances of e-commerce fraud this holiday season. Criminals may commit this fraud by creating fake online shopping websites where they collect people’s money and then do not deliver the promised goods. They may also collect credit card information to use for their own nefarious purposes.
-
Charity scams – You and other consumers will likely make donations to charities out of goodwill or a desire to increase your charitable giving before tax season. Fraudsters may pose as real charities or may invent fake charities to solicit donations. They may ask you to provide the credit card information to make repeat donations, but they may simply run off with your money and your credit card information.
-
Gift card fraud – If you don’t know what to purchase for a picky recipient, you might purchase a gift card so they can buy what they want. However, some fraudsters may copy the codes off the back of gift cards and then wait for the consumer to activate them to steal the funds. They can usually make purchases online, so they do not even need a physical card to commit this type of fraud.
-
Phishing scams – Your inbox is probably full of offers and advertisements by reputable businesses hoping to get you to spend your consumer dollars on their wares. However, scammers may have sent some of these messages in hopes that you will not notice that their message differs slightly from the reputable business they imitate. They hope you will click on a link that will download malware on your device to steal your personal or credit card information.
Prevention and Protection Tips
You can prevent credit card fraud when you follow these steps:
1. Keep Your Credit Card Numbers Private
The first step to preventing credit card fraud involves limiting other people’s access to your credit card numbers. Avoid giving your physical card to anyone else. Carefully consider who you want to give your credit card number to over the phone or in person. If the other person called you, do not give them this information. Avoid responding with your credit card number or other information about your credit account via text, email, or social media message. This common tactic tries to get you to give up your credit information to “verify” your account and then use the information to steal your credentials.
Also, consider using paperless statements and making payments online so that your papers do not contain sensitive information that others may get a hold of.
2. Secure Your Devices
Today, many people store their credit cards on their computers or phone. Although you might like this convenience, it can make you vulnerable. You will want to reduce the possible ways for fraudsters to gain unauthorized access to your credit card information. Some ways to do this include:
-
Deactivating the autofill function on your browser
-
Installing firewall protection and security software on all of your devices
-
Downloading and installing the latest updates for your operating system and browsers
-
Using a digital wallet or password vault that encrypts your payment information
3. Protect Against Extra Charges
Avoid businesses or employees tacking on extra charges by filling in or crossing out extra lines for tips or other charges. Also, reconcile your account and your receipts together to check for any overcharges.
4. Avoid Clicking
Because credit card fraud is more prevalent during this time of year, you need to use more caution before clicking on social media ads, banner ads, or links in emails on your PC, laptop, or your smartphone, which may contain dangerous viruses or malware.
Avoid this problem by going to the store’s website and using the promotion instead of clicking on the link from a message or a third-party site. Also, confirm that you have the exact URL since some scammers create sites that look identical to others.
5. Monitor Your Accounts
One of the best ways to minimize the potential damage of credit card fraud involves monitoring your accounts closely for suspected fraud. You can check your account from your phone if your account provider offers an app. Many accounts offer an option to alert you of every transaction or of those over a certain dollar amount. Often, you can also sign up for credit monitoring.
6. Report Suspected Fraud Immediately
Try to limit the damage as much as possible by reporting any suspected fraud immediately to your account provider. The company may block any further activity and set up a new card and number for you.
Conclusion
The holidays offer times of great fun with friends and family, especially when you don’t have to deal with identity theft or fraudulent charges. Don’t let the holidays lull you into any sense of credit card security. Staying vigilant this holiday season can help you with your objective of preventing credit card fraud.