Credit cards are useful, and many adults have one, if not several. You can use them to purchase services and goods all over the world.
However, credit card breaches sometimes occur. A breach is when a hacker gets ahold of your credit card information. They can use that to commit identity theft or fraud.
There are ways to protect yourself from credit card breaches, though, and we’ll talk about some of them right now. Before we jump into these though, it’s important to mention that you should always try to use credit cards responsibly. They’re just tools, like finance software or a debt consolidation loan calculator. You’ll get the most out of them if you don’t misuse them.
1. Check Your Account Daily
Now, on to our tips for how to protect yourself from credit card breaches. The first thing you might do is to get in the habit of checking your credit card accounts daily. You can do it in the morning before you leave for work or in the evening before you go to bed.
If this is a habit for you, you’ll immediately recognize it when you see a charge that you didn’t make or don’t remember making. If you see one, it doesn’t necessarily mean a breach has occurred. It could be a mistake. Either way, checking your credit card account status every day means you’ll notice if anything looks out of the ordinary.
2. Report Unauthorized Transactions
The next thing you’ll want to do is report any unauthorized transactions without delay. Again, seeing a charge you don’t recognize doesn’t always mean there’s something fraudulent going on. You won’t know until you look into it, though.
You can reach out to the credit card company and ask them to look into the matter for you. They can launch an investigation and get back to you with the results.
If you don’t feel like the results of their investigation are satisfactory, you can also get your bank involved. If the credit card company seems unable to help you, the bank to which you attached the payment account might be able to assist you.
3. Monitor Your Credit Report
Monitoring your credit card accounts can tell you what’s happening with them, but you can also watch out for fraud by monitoring your credit report. Let’s say that you suspect someone hacked your credentials. Maybe your login and password showed up on a report of a larger data breach.
If so, it’s possible that fraudsters could try to purchase things in your name. You can combat this by contacting credit agencies and asking them to freeze your credit report.
You can take this temporary action until you order new credit cards and change the passwords on all your bank accounts. Even once you have new cards and passwords, you should still monitor your credit report for a while afterward to make sure no one is impersonating you.
Protecting Yourself from Breaches is Possible
Protection from credit card breaches can start when you get in the habit of checking your accounts every day. Doing so is like an early warning system so that you can detect any potentially fraudulent charges and contest them immediately.
If you see any unauthorized transactions on your account, contact the credit card company and ask them to investigate. If their investigation doesn’t satisfy you, you can reach out to the bank to which you’ve attached that card.
You should also ask for a temporary freeze of your credit report if your name shows up as part of a larger company data breach. Sometimes, nothing will come of these breaches, but it’s best to order new credit cards and change your bank account login information, just in case.
These actions can protect you from possible credit card breaches and minimize any damage if one occurs.