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Top 7 Ways of Safeguarding Credit Cards

Safeguarding Credit Cards

Credit cards are among the safest ways of making purchases due to their convenience, acceptance in most stores, and elimination of carrying cash. However, they come with the risk of card theft or stolen card information that may be used for weird charges on our financial accounts. Websites can help mitigate this by implementing credit card tokenization to make sure payments are secure during any transactions. Companies can check on this over at websites like tokenex.com for more information.

Businesses these days are embracing technology and accepting various cashless methods of payments, among which credit cards rank most popular, due to all of the reasons mentioned above. To ensure security and privacy, businesses tend to use an outsourced credit card vault that creates a way of storing customers’ credit card information for ease of use. Even high-risk businesses like CBD and gun merchants generally take the help of gateway merchants that assist in secure credit card payment processing which could provide an additional layer of security and fraud protection for problems that may arise in financial transactions. Leading high-risk merchant account companies such as Easy Pay Direct (https://www.easypaydirect.com/) could prove useful in this regard.

But that’s on the business end of things. The following are guidelines that can help us learn how to protect our credit cards from theft.

Keep the Cards Safe from the First Day

Signing the card at its back ensures it does not fall into other people’s hands. Creating a strong password or PIN will give anyone who might want to misuse the card a hard time. To enhance a credit card’s security, avoid passwords that match other bank accounts or retail sites. If the bank in question offers a multifactor authentication process, take advantage of it.

Keep the Account Number in Private

Our account numbers should be kept away from the public eye. Give it out only when dealing with a merchant or a banking institution that is trustworthy. Also, treat any message or email asking for the card number as suspicious.

Often, we get printed information on payments made using a credit card for filing or future reference. However, these statements may be used to obtain important information about us in a postal system. As such, we must shred the documents as soon as we arrive home before throwing them in a trash bin.

Update Banking Information

Relocation from one district to the other is inevitable especially if we are employed. However, updating the bank about the change of address and other contacts will ensure our statements safely land in our hands.

Signing up for the alert system with a financial institution enhances quick response if fraudulent activities are aimed at our accounts. We ought to choose between an email, a phone call or text depending on our convenience.

Conduct an Online Check

How long do we take to check on our account balance? Most of us wait until the bank sends us a statement which might be monthly or quarterly. Checking the account balance on a daily basis will help identify any suspicious charge or fraud. Do not hesitate to raise a dispute once you find a funny or suspicious charge.

Freeze the Credit

What do I do if I am caught in a data breach? The first measure in protecting credit history and the card information is by calling the credit bureaus. They will freeze the credit report and stop anyone from accessing the account without approval. However, creditors may fail to access credit reports at such a period preventing them from approving any application.

Secure the Network

We become vulnerable to online fraud when we keep storing our credit card information on our browsers. Before filling out any sensitive information concerning the card, ensure the Autofill function is turned off in the browser.

Use of digital wallets in smartphones is another way of keeping our banking information safe. These wallets give the user an easier time when conducting an electronic transaction using a credit card. The wallets are encrypted making them safer than cards.

To safeguard the phone, we must make it hard for others to open by creating a passcode. Random numbers or letters may give a savvy cyberthief a challenge in cracking it. Moreover, use of advanced authentication measures such as Face or Fingerprint ID can keep the phone safe.

Bottom Line

Identity theft happens every day and the above steps can help us protect our credit card information. However, if it happens, call the credit company immediately to avoid chargebacks and prevent further financial manipulation by cyberbullies.

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