In my last post, I described the top 5 types of credit-card fraud (phishing, minting, skimming, shaving, and cramming), and offered specific techniques that can be used to spot or prevent these scams. The field of credit-card theft and prevention is a broad one. The following 10 general tips are important for all consumers to bear in mind as well:
1. Create a master list of your credit card numbers. Include all particulars such as expiration dates and verification numbers or passwords and keep this list in a safe. Do not keep this list on your computer unless you encrypt or password-protect it.
2. Create a master list of your identification cards (driver’s license, passport, social security card, Green card, visa, etc.). Include photocopies of all essential information with this list. Keep this information is a secure place as well.
3. Sign all credit cards. This practice keeps potential credit-card thieves from signing stolen credit cards in their own handwriting.
4. Keep the credit cards and identity cards you carry on your person separate if possible. This is usually easier for women to do than for men. If these items are all kept together in the same wallet, the loss of the wallet provides thieves with basically everything they need to make money.
5. Save all receipts and reconcile them against your statements as they arrive each month. Pay particular attention to returns and credits. Make certain that each item listed on a bill is confirmed by a receipt that you have saved for this purpose. Do not discard receipts until they have been reconciled.
6. Never let your credit card out of your sight. Period.
7. Question all attempts to photocopy your identity cards, and refuse to allow this practice unless you know the vendor well. Treat all people who ask you for these highly sensitive items as the strangers they are. Insist that they show compelling cause for asking for such documents.
8. Shred all receipts and account statements after reconciling them.
9. Place a lock on your mailbox and open your mail promptly.
10. Never leave blank spaces on a receipt. Place a line through any places on a receipt where additional charges could possibly be added after you have left the premises.
General Security Practices To Bear In Mind
Take ownership of your receipts. Scam artists are creative and resourceful. They might be able to use, for instance, a gasoline receipt that you have forgotten at the pump to extract information about your account (or your identity) from an unwitting clerk.
Notify your credit-card issuers of planned changes of address in advance of the move. This precaution keeps potentially sensitive mail from being delivered to your old address after you have moved.
Do not lend credit cards. Parents occasionally find it either necessary or useful to lend a credit card to a child. If you allow this practice in your home, make certain that the person to whom you lend the charge plate is aware of the risks losing a credit card can pose.
Do not discuss sensitive account information over the telephone with unsolicited callers. If you know the individual or firm, proceed as your judgment dictates. However, if someone calls you and asks for sensitive information, write down his or her telephone number and any information you deem pertinent. Then consult a website or a telephone book for an official phone number for the firm in question and call it directly. Do not return the call on a telephone number provided by the inquiring party.
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