Arm Yourself
Credit card fraud can happen to anyone and is becoming more common. You need to arm yourself with the knowledge of how to prevent it and what to do if it happens to you. Hold onto your credit card receipts and dispose of them properly. While most places are now hiding your credit card numbers and only showing the last four digits this is not always the case. Some receipts will still show your entire credit card number and if you have placed your signature on it as well then a thief has enough info to go on with just that alone. They can put in for a change of address to your credit card company and spend it all before you ever know what happens. You’ll wonder why your bill hasn’t come in yet, and if you put it off, the collectors will come calling. Don’t wait, if your bill is late then you need to call your credit card company and find out why, and also to check if there are any charges that you have not placed on the card.
Properly Dispose of Personal Info
So it turns out you have great credit and receive regular offers from credit card companies with great interest rates, but you have enough cards so you toss your junk mail in the trash, sometimes without even opening it. Bad idea. Many thieves will happily dumpster dive to get some good info. They can take those pre approved offers, and often times don’t even need to speak to an actual person. They will open the card in your name through an automated system to make things fast and efficient and start spending your money as quickly as possible. Shred those offers, dunk them in water, burn them, whatever it takes to get your information scattered, hidden, and difficult to contend with. Make it difficult for those thieves so they won’t want to mess with it. You can ‘opt out’ of these offers by sending a request or calling the company and asking them to remove you from the list.
What about those old deposit slips at the back of your checkbook that you never used? You know the ones with your name, complete physical address, your account and routing number. Someone could very easily transfer money to a temporary account, or just write a bad check to deposit and sign for the money in the less cash received section. Black out all the info and shred them before you throw them away. The same goes for voided checks.
Don’t Give Out Your Info Unless Necessary
Your social security number is, unfortunately, your identity when it comes to many things, including your credit. Make sure it is absolutely necessary before giving out this information. If a company calls you, claiming they need to update your information, get their number and call them back before you give any of it out. Many identity thieves will call you, pretending to be some credit company associated or working with your credit card company and ask to ‘update your info’ and you will give them all the info they need to open up accounts and start spending.
Monitor your spending. If anything shows up that you did not buy, call immediately. If your bill is taking longer than expected to get to you, call. Automated systems make things easier not only for you, but for identity thieves as well. Go paperless if possible so you don’t have any physical papers a thief can get too easily. You can buy protection through many companies that will alert you if there any changes in your credit. In the end just be careful with any info that can lead to your bank or credit card account. Make sure you dispose of the information properly and you may be able to avoid the stress and hassle of identity theft.
