Credit card fraud – 10 tips to protect against it

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Credit cards have made payments quick, easy, and convenient, and they can be used to make online purchases, pay for parking, and much more.

Nevertheless, it has also become riskier these days as attackers can gain your identity and credit or debit card information to make purchases.

Being proactive to secure your credit and debit cards is, therefore, critical.

Here are 10 important tips to consider when using your credit card.

1. Sign your card as soon as you receive it

Many people forget to sign the back of their credit or debit cards, but many merchants do match signatures when processing transactions at retail stores.

2. Review your account statements on a timely basis

You should always check your receipts against your statements every week to ensure that you have not been overcharged or that your refund has been paid back in full.

If you see a charge that you don’t recognise, you should contact your bank immediately.

3. When shopping online, only place orders with your card on a secure website

Make sure you’re shopping on a secure website, especially when it’s time to enter your card number.

Look for the lock icon in your browser and pay attention to any security warnings that pop up.

4. Use secure connections and avoid public Wi-Fi

Mobile devices and free Wi-Fi make it easy to get things done, but you never know how secure a public hotspot is.

If you’re going to access financial accounts or punch in card numbers, save those tasks for when you’re at home or work and you know your traffic is safe.

5. Don’t send your card details via email

Do not send e-mails that include card details such as your card number, expiry date or other details.

6. Check your credit card when you get it back

Ensure that you get your own card back after every purchase and that the card you receive out of the ATM is your own.

7. Never write down your PIN or disclose it to anyone

Even if your card is lost or stolen, without your PIN, your card is almost useless to criminals if they want to do an ATM or over-the-counter transaction.

Keep your pin a secret and also make it hard to guess – avoid using your birthday, for example as your PIN as it may get compromised easily.

8. Destroy your credit card receipts before discarding it

You may want to keep receipts until you get your credit card statement for verification purposes.

However, you should dispose of them properly when they’re no longer useful rather than tossing them in the garbage can.

9. Never let the card out of your sight

Treat your card as you would cash and never let it out of your sight as fraudsters can use sophisticated devices to skim your card and steal your PIN and card information.

10. Report lost and stolen cards immediately

If your card is lost or stolen or is retained in an ATM, report it immediately to your bank so that you can be protected against fraud.

The following infographic from Standard Bank provides more information on card skimming.

A Standard Bank credit card enables you to make safe and easy purchases at millions of merchants worldwide.

Standard Bank credit cards are chip-embedded, adding an additional layer of security to help protect you against fraud.

Chip-embedded cards are more secure than traditional magnetic strips because they use hard-to-guess security codes that change with every purchase, thereby making it more difficult to counterfeit.

Standard Bank credit cards also come with many additional features, such as MyUpdates SMS alerts, lost card protection, basic travel insurance, Internet Banking, app banking and telephone banking.

You can get a limit of up to R100,000 with a Standard Bank credit card, and pay a minimum of only 3%, back every month (subject to Ts&Cs).

As an added bonus, Standard Bank will give you UCount Rewards points worth R300 if you apply for a credit card before the end of September 2017.

UCount Rewards is an exciting rewards programme that lets you collect rewards points when you shop with your qualifying Standard Bank Credit card.

You can get up to 20%* back in rewards points on all your qualifying grocery purchases, up to R2 back in rewards points per litre of fuel purchased from Caltex and up to 1.25%* back in rewards points on all your other purchases.

You can redeem your rewards points online for a range of fantastic items at the UCount Rewards Online Mall, and for incredible local and international travel packages, for flights, car hire, accommodation and much more at the UCount Rewards Travel Mall.

You can also redeem your points at our Rewards Retailers and for fuel from Caltex using your activated UCount Rewards card.

Apply before 30 September 2017 and get UCount Rewards points worth R300! (Ts&Cs apply).

Our secure contactless Tap to Pay payment method allows you to make quick and easy payments when you’re on the go.

For more information, visit the Standard Bank website.