5 Ways to Keep Your Credit Card Secure

With digital technology becoming increasingly powerful, credit card hackers are growing more dangerous. Protecting data and keeping your credit card secure is more important than ever. Thankfully, credit card companies are taking additional measures to guard against fraud and aid customers if fraud occurs. Here are five precautions you should take to reduce the risk of credit card fraud.

1. Never share your card information or pictures of your card

The first and most obvious tip is to never share any private information from your credit card. Don’t email your card number to a friend, and don’t say your security code where someone else may hear. Doing these things gives credit card thieves access to your private data. It goes without saying that you should never post pictures of your card anywhere, at least without blacking out the card number and security code. Although obvious, this mistake is made more than often and should be avoided at all costs.

2. Always shred your old credit cards

Because credit cards typically expire after about three years, any credit cardholder likely has multiple old cards that have already expired. When credit cards expire, the account number and security code on it do not change. Therefore, if someone got hold of your old cards, they would be able to easily hack into your current account and make fraudulent transactions. When you receive a new credit card, always make sure to shred or thoroughly destroy your old card so that it is impossible to piece back together. This is an essential precaution to keep your credit card information secure.

3. Take advantage of Contactless and Chip Technology

Many credit card issuers are now using Chip Technology, allowing cardholders to make transactions with just a tap of their card rather than a full swipe. If you have a newer card, chances are, your card has this technology. Instead of a magnetic stripe, cards with Chip Technology have small chips, making hacking more difficult. Cards such as the Regions Premium Visa Signature Card and others all have this useful feature that makes your credit card more secure. 

4. Use temporary purchase numbers

Some credit card issuers such as Bank of American and Citi are now letting cardholders generate temporary purchase numbers. These numbers are single-use, unique card numbers to use during shopping that are deactivated after one transaction. Every time you want to use your card to shop online, you will receive a new card number for that one specific purchase. Even if your card number is stolen from the transaction, the hacker won’t be able to make any fraudulent purchases since the number will be useless. Temporary purchase numbers are a fail-proof way to protect your card from fraud.

5. Get a card with Zero Liability Protection

Most credit cards nowadays come with Zero Liability Protection, helping customers if they have the misfortune of being hacked. Zero Liability Protection means that the issuer will not hold you financially accountable for any unauthorized charges on your account. If a hacker makes purchases with your card, you will not have to pay for these purchases, and the issuer will help you reset your account to prevent further fraud. Most cards have this feature, so make sure that you take advantage of it.

Takeaways

In our current age with technology more advanced than ever, we must take heavier precautions to protect ourselves against credit card fraud. By getting cards with Chip Technology and Zero Liability Protection while making smart choices like not sharing private information and shredding expired cards, we can minimize the chances of fraud. These measures will ensure that your credit card is secure and your information stays private.