Reducing your Risk of Credit Card & Identity Fraud

Here's my 15 tips to help reduce your personal risk of credit card fraud and identify fraud. Oh when I say identify fraud\theft, I mean when someone assumes your identify to rack up credit\loans and other fraudulent activity in your name.

1. Invest in a decent shredder, avoid cheap shredders they are a false economy, they often don’t last long anyway, and can make shredding a real chore. Try to get into the habit of regularly shredding receipts, statements or anything else with financial and personal information.

2. Never ever disclosure your PIN number, login details or passwords. Often fraudsters will “confidence trick” by appealing to either greed or fear. For example if you are told you have won a competition or entry into a free cash draw, but you have never entered the competition, I 99% guarantee it is either a scam or an attempt to collect your personal details for marketing, just remember there is no such thing as a free lunch. Also fraudsters will use fear to by pass your normal cautious thinking, often fraudsters impersonate organisations like your bank or your favourite online auction site, stating they have detected a security breach with your online account, and you must validate your details.

3. Never ever write down passwords, login details or especially Chip & Pin number.

4. Never send card details or bank details by Email, even if a hotel or online shop requests your card details by Email. My golden rule with Email security is, if you are not happy to write the Email contents on the back of postcard and post it, you shouldn’t be writing within an Email, as Email is no a secure medium. Also when reading your Email, the senders Email address and Name is no guarantee it is from that person or organisation, and of course never accept Email attachments, or click on links within Emails you aren’t sure of or expecting.

5. Never let your debit/credit cards or your card details out of your sight when making a transaction in the real world. Unfortunately low paid shop staff are some of the worst culprits when it comes to card fraud, either collecting card details and selling them on, or committing fraud directly themselves, it only takes them seconds for them to steal the info from your card.

6. When using a Chip and Pin devices or cash machines, use your free hand to shield the number pad as you type in your PIN. This will provide protection against bad guys who “shoulder surf” and hidden cameras.

7. If you can, avoid divulging your card details by telephone. You don’t know who might be listening nor can you see the person collecting details, and what they might doing with them.

8. With online banking, always type in your bank website address directly in the address bar of your web browser. Never click on web links, especially those sent in Emails.

9. At all times, make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software, up-to-date Microsoft Windows Patches, Anti-Spyware and a Firewall installed and Enabled.

10. When Shopping online, make sure the webpage is encrypted before entering any personal and credit card details. Look for a locked golden padlock and “https” at the start of the web site address. You probably wouldn’t give your credit card details to a street trader right? Well consider the same approach when shopping online. If a website looks dodgy and you have never heard of the business, you probably should go with your instincts, as you would in the real world.

11. Always check through your statements, and chase up any anomaly you find, even the smallest unexplained transaction could be a sign of identify theft or account compromise.

12. When filling out forms or being asked for personal information verbally, never be afraid to question what you are supplying, as is it is all too easy to go into autopilot. Let’s say if someone knocks on your front door promoting a new local car wash, and gives you a discount voucher and then proceeds to ask for your your name, Email and phone number. Ask yourself why that information is being collected and question the promoter about what the car wash company will do with it. Don’t be afraid to question organisations as well, about how they are going to protect your personal information, read up on their privacy policies before parting with your personal information, know what you letting yourself in for.

13. Always keep your guard up, it's not as easy as it seems. We are all bombard with requests for our personal information on a dialy basis, whether via a street survey, or a small opt in check box on a form, always try to avoid giving up your personal information unnecessarily, often the people collecting it will sell it on to marketing firms for a profit or even worst.

14. Keep track of your bills, if every month you get a credit card statement, and one doesn’t turn up, chase it up. Also when you receive a new cheque book, check all the cheques are present, one cheque scam committed by fraudsters, is to intercept the mail, open it and steal a couple of cheques from near the back of the book and then cash them, before resealing and sending up the cheque book, its far too late before the victim discovers the missing cheques.

15. If you feel particularlly concerned that you might be a victim of identify theft, arrange a credit check on yourself to make sure. (I plan another blog around dealing with this at a later date)