Be safe with your credit card

There have been some scare stories about how hackers can steal credit card details and payment details from online customers. Online retailers would like people to use credit cards more than they already are. Some blame hacker stories and others put it down to a lack of confidence in paying ‘blind’ without personal contact. Experts hope that consumers will have more confidence as and when online payment methods and security measures have standards.

Internet companies do take responsibility for breaches of security and any resultant losses fro credit card users, but there is a growing threat of identity theft, where thieves can steal details from the use of cards on the internet, and make their own purchases with your card. Some credit card companies have even had malpractices of their own. In the United States in the 1990s the TransUnion credit reporting bureau was selling sensitive consumer data on 160 million Americans to junk mail producers. It was charged with violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in the US.

To avoid such fraudulent use of your own data, take care when completing your credit card application form. Make sure that you check all boxes allowing or disallowing use of your information to mailing lists. Check the wording: some boxes you do have to tick; others you have to leave blank! You can also sign up to the mailing preference service which will protect you from a large amount of junk mail. You can write to the major credit card bureaus and request that your named be removed from their mailing lists.

Other ways to protect yourself against credit card mis-use are:

• Sign your card as soon as you receive it.
• Whenever you use your card enter your PIN in such a way that no one can see what you’re typing in or easily memorize your keystrokes.
• Don’t leave your receipt behind at the ATM or anywhere you have used your card. Your PIN and account number from a discarded receipt could make you vulnerable to credit card fraud.
• Don’t throw out your credit card statement, receipts or any communications without first shredding them!
• Never give your credit card number over the telephone unless you initiated the call.
• When you do call a legitimate merchant (such as a mail-order company), never give your card number out over a cordless phone. Radio scanners can eavesdrop on these conversations, and these can be bought for a few hundred pounds at any electronics store. With these your voice can be picked up by one from a far greater distance than the maximum useful range of your cordless phone.
• One common scam is when someone “calls you back” straight after you place an order, and claims to be from the merchant and tells you that there was a problem with your card number, and would you mind giving it to them again? The best thing to do is ask for a contact name and call the merchant back at the number you used originally.
• Ignore any credit card offer that requires you to spend money up-front or fails to disclose the identity of the card issuer.
• Make sure your credit card never leaves your sight when making a purchase in a shop or restaurant.
• Ensure that you get your card back after you make a purchase (a good idea is to leave your wallet open in your hand until you get the card back). Also, rip up any void or cancelled sales slips.
• Always keep a list of your credit cards, credit card numbers and phone numbers to call in case your card is stolen or lost.
• Check your monthly statement to make certain all purchases have been your own. Notify the card issuer immediately of any errors or unauthorized purchases.

One way to avoid credit card billing errors and unjustified fees is to carefully go through your monthly credit card statement. Make sure all the transactions are legitimate and that any charges (finance charges, late or over-the-limit charges) are justified. If not, you can reclaim them.

Some websites offer credit card safety, by having your transactions protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology. SSL encrypts your credit card number, name, address, and phone number as it travels through the Internet.

You can also get extra online protection by signing-up for Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode. Increasingly when you go to pay online with your card you will be given the option of signing up to these schemes that involve you using a password. By signing up you will prevent fraudsters using your card details on participating sites as only you will know your password.

Another option is to consider using an Internet-only card. If you regularly buy things over the Internet, you could consider opening a separate credit card account specifically for these transactions. In this way you would be able to monitor transactions at a glance and limit the available credit line should anything go wrong.