Keeping Your Credit Card Safe

We often hear about the misuse of credit cards, don’t we? Fraudsters are finding new ways to dupe innocent users all the time. 

So how do you protect your credit card from such frauds?

Here are a few things that you can do:

1. Keep your credit card with you at all times

The first and the most important thing to do is to keep your credit card safe. Most frauds happen when the card is stolen or misplaced. Keep the card in a safe place, and don’t carry it with you if you don’t need it. 

As we mentioned before, in case you are swiping a card at a merchant outlet, don’t let it out of your sight. In case the swiping machine is kept somewhere else, accompany the shop personnel to ensure it is swiped in your presence. 

2. Keep your PIN safe

This goes hand in hand with our first tip. Keep your PIN safe at all times. Here are a few things you can do in this regard: 

• Don’t share it with anyone else. 
• Don’t keep an easily guessable PIN such as your date of birth or your anniversary. 
• Don’t write it down anywhere. 
• Change your PINat least once in 6 months.

3. Check monthly credit card alerts regularly

Your bank must be sending SMS/email alerts for all transactions done by you. Keep a tab on them and check them often. In case you receive an alert but you have not done any transaction, immediately contact your bank and inform them. 

4. Manage your online activity

Do not click on unknown links or open unknown websites either on your laptop or on your tab or mobile. Most bugs enter a device this way. If you are not sure about the origin of a link, it is advisable to not open the same. If you receive any suspicious message or email, delete it immediately. Ensure that it is not lying in your trash folder as well. Check the trash folder and delete it from there too. 

5. Inform the bank immediately if your card is lost or stolen

Finally, we come to the most important tips of all. In case you feel that your card has been lost or stolen, call your bank immediately. In case unauthorized transactions have already taken place in your card, inform them about that as well. 

What to do if your credit card is stolen/lost?

In case your credit card is lost or stolen, you need to do these things immediately:

1. Call your credit card issuer: Call your credit card issuer and inform them about the lost card. You can find your credit card issuer’s phone number in your credit card statement or online. 
2. Provide your information: Your credit card customer care representative will first ask for verification to establish that you are the owner of the card. Then they will block your credit card immediately and issue you a new credit card. 
3. Keep a record of the conversation: During the conversation, the customer care representative may give you a service reference number for your request. Write it down somewhere. This will help you follow up on your request in future. 

Finally, don’t panic. Every bank/NBFC has a certain insured amount for credit cards which they can refund to your credit card. However, this remains solely in the discretion of the issuer. This amount will be written in the terms and conditions statement sent to you while issuing the credit card. You can check this beforehand to be aware of all the aspects of your credit card.

Conclusion:

We are not at the end of this module. Though we have learned a lot about Credit Cards and its uses. We hope next time you apply for credit cards or purchase any goods or services on credit cards, these lessons will definitely help you. If you like this module please share it with your friends and family. There are also many such interesting modules on ELM School. You can read them all and increase your knowledge in the world of finance. 

Happy learning!