5 Ways to Avoid Credit Card Fraud

It seems every day there is a new story about identity theft and credit card fraud somewhere. Sometimes there are hundreds of these stories in a day. With so many people out there desperate to take our credit card numbers, how do we keep them save? Here are five tips that will give you a good start.

Keep your Numbers Private

Your credit card is a personal card that is meant for you. While it may just seem like a piece of plastic, you should not freely lend your card out to people you know, or give out your credit card number for no good reason. Even when you have to pay for something at a restaurant or other location, you should try to keep an eye on what is happening to your card to make sure someone isn't copying down your numbers to use later.

Shred Receipts

Receipts are not supposed to show more than the last four digits of your credit card, but many of them do. They also have a lot of your other personal information on them. Once you are done using your receipts, or filing them away for taxes, you should shred them instead of putting them in a regular trash can. Don't make the information easy to find for someone who may be up to no good.

Shred Application

Credit card applications come in as much as other pieces of junk mail. You may see them so much that you no longer care about them and toss them in the trash without a second thought. That is not a good idea. That application has some of your information on it. You should always shred credit applications to make sure someone else doesn't fish them out of the trash and try to open a line of credit in your name.

Use Secure Websites

If you do a lot of online shopping, make sure you are using a secure online site. Look for that little padlock logo in the corner of your web browser so you know the information you are entering is secure and only going to those you want to be giving it to.

Watch Your Card Statement

The best thing you can do to keep your credit cards secure is keep a close eye on what is happening on them. If you do online banking, you should check your credit cards regularly to make sure all the charges coming through are ones you put there. If you wait until the statement comes, make sure to look at it as soon as it comes and call if you see anything that is suspicious.