With more and more of us in the UK shopping online, protecting yourself against credit card fraud becomes increasingly important. There are several things we can do to help foil fraudsters from getting their hands on your credit card information and ultimately your identity. Most credit card companies offer fraud protection cover. If you report any loss of your card within 24 hours the cardholder is only liable for a small, fixed amount - a bit like car insurance excess.
In the meantime, every cardholder should take the following steps to protect themselves:
* Get insurance: There are credit cards available on the market, which offer ‘Identity Theft Insurance Cover’. * Get protection cover: Most card issuers offer a registration scheme, which should be a free service. It means online transactions will require an additional password to verify your identity. * Keep your records private: Don’t let anyone know your pin number or use an easily traced pin number, such as a birthday or telephone number. * Hide or destroy your documents: It is sensible to purchase a shredding machine and regularly shred receipts documents sent from your card provider. * Make sure your computer is safe: Make sure you keep your computer secure with anti virus and firewall protection. There’s a new piece of technology available, for example, called a ‘phishing filter’, which will protect you from fraudsters. * Don’t email your personal details: Don’t send Your PIN numbers or passwords to anybody, even if the person you are sending them to is trustworthy, you don’t know who could be accessing your computer. * Don’t give your personal details to cold callers. * Be aware who is looking over your shoulder: Cover the screen on the card terminal when you type in your PIN in a shop or at a cash-point. * Keep up to date: Read your statements thoroughly and make sure that you can recollect any expenditure, or tally with your receipts.
Identity theft can ruin your life, even if you are extremely careful. The fraudsters are able to use ever more sophisticated techniques to get your personal details. They can steal your identity and then use it to get loans and even mortgages without your knowledge. These loans will be in your name, and when (not if) defaulted on, will leave you with a big debt. Some credit cards have insurance schemes that protect against such occurrences, usually costing a small amount per month. These may be worth thinking about, especially if you travel a lot (putting you more at risk), or use your credit card often.
‘Identity Theft Cover’ does three things. It will prevent credit card fraud, detect potential criminal activity against you, and defend against identity theft. Clearing your name once identity fraud has taken place can be extremely time consuming, as all the credit agencies have to be contacted and your case proved to all of them before they will restore your credit rating. Cover will do all the hard work for you using a qualified team of experts. They will also pay for your legal costs.
If you follow all of the above tips, you will go a long way to protecting yourself against credit card fraud and identity theft. Be sure to shop around before choosing your credit card to make sure you will have some form of cover against credit card fraud. Even if it seems more expensive initially, it could save you thousands in the long term. Don’t let credit card fraud devastate your life; take control and don’t let the fraudsters take control of you.
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