Credit Card Safety: Is your Number on that Receipt?

Many merchants (including retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, etc) have fixed what used to be a regular practice. Not too long ago when you used your credit or debit card to pay your bill, your entire credit card number or debit card number (as applicable to the situation) would appear on both the merchant’s receipt and the customers copy.

Many people may not see a problem with this. However, if you think about it, many of us just toss our receipts into the trash when we get them. With the rise of internet banking (which automatically keeps track of your debits and credits on your accounts) many people do not know how or just do not balance their checkbook. As such, there is no need to keep your receipt. But what if an identity thief happened to find a receipt in the trash and your entire credit card number was on the receipt? Would you care? You should care because a lot of damage can be done with just a credit card number.

As I mentioned, many merchants have fixed this problem by only putting the last 4 numbers of your credit card number on the receipt. The other numbers are replaced with an “x.” However, if you use your credit card at a place that does not “x out” your credit or debit card numbers, make sure you shred your receipts in a cross cut shredder (after you no longer need them) before disposal. By doing this, you will limit the possibility of somebody stealing your identity.

What to do if You Think Your Credit Card Number Has Been Stolen

If you think you credit card number has been stolen, the first thing you should do is make sure that your damage is minimized. Immediately go online or call your credit card company and check what recent charges have been made on the card. If no charges have been made, but you truly believe that your credit card number has been stolen, you are better safe than sorry. Have the credit card company deactivate your credit card. After this is done you should start the process of getting a new card from them.

If you check your account online or through a phone call to the credit card company and you discover a charge on your account that is not yours, you should immediately inform the credit card company that your credit card number has been stolen. Second, you should tell the credit card company to deactivate the card. After that you should dispute the charges as fraudulent and seek to have them removed from your statement so that you are not liable for the charges. Additionally, you should begin the process of getting a new card from the credit card company.

The best way to prevent theft of your credit card number is by making sure that any paper you discard does not have your credit card number on it and that if a paper does have your credit card number on it, that the paper is shredded by a cross cut shredder before discarding it.

Protect your credit card number and you can avoid the big headache of fixing this kind of problem.

Credit Card Safety: What to do if Your “Bank” Calls

A very common technique utilized by an identity thief is to call you pretending to be an employee of your bank. These con artists usually make up a story about the bank losing your information and that he/she needs you to verify your bank account by telling him/her your account number, full name, social security number, and other personal information. The unsuspecting victim complies with the request hoping to solve any problems the bank is having. Unfortunately, that person is about to become another statistic in the growing number of identity theft cases.

Your bank, or any legitimate bank for that matter, will never call you and ask for your personal information. Think about it logically; if they had your phone number and name and knew you were a bank customer, why would they need your personal information? Do not fear hanging up on these criminals!

Many people fear that it really is their bank calling and that if they hang up on their bank, something bad will happen. Listen, nothing is going to happen if you hang up on your bank. It is not like you are going to get a letter the next day telling you your account has been closed due to your telephone rudeness. The point is, do not be fooled by these con artists.

Always remember (absent being inside the bank opening a new account), a bank will never ask you for your personal information! It is that simple. If you truly feel that it is your bank calling and that there really is a problem with your account, get the caller’s name and call station location. That same day (or the next day if the bank is already closed) go down to your local branch and tell the teller the situation. If the teller checks your account and everything is fine, then you know that you just prevented an identity thief from claiming you as his/her next victim.

Always look for subtle signs that an identity thief is trying to steal your identity. For example, a call after regular business hours; a “private number” showing up on your caller id; or the caller not be able to tell you what is wrong with your account are all signs of an identity thief attempting to steal your identity. Like I stated above, you would much rather be safe than sorry in these kinds of situations, therefore, error on the side of caution and never give out your personal information over the phone or through the mail.

Credit Card Safety: Should Sign Your Card?

When you first get a credit card, there is a signature strip along the back of the card. Most of the time, the credit card company from which you received your card will instruct you to sign your card immediately. I do not really believe that signing the back of a credit card adds any extra security.

First of all, unless you use a certain kind of pen, your signature usually rubs off within a relatively short amount of time. Therefore, you have to keep tracing over your own signature so that the signature strip does not look like a jumbled mess.

Second, by signing the back of the card, you are giving would-be identity thieves a sample of your signature. Most retailers only briefly look at your signature, if at all. If the signatures look even remotely similar, no questions are asked. Therefore, I feel that by signing the signature line, you are unintentionally helping an identity thief steal your identity.

Third, as briefly stated above, most retail employees do not even look at your signature line. However, many do ask for you id. Therefore, signing the back of your credit card is usually a waste of time.

Instead of signing your name to the back of your credit card, you should print the words “SEE ID” in all capital letters. If the retail employee happens to look at the back of your credit card to match signatures, they will be instructed to ask for your id and match the signature on your government issued identification. This is helpful because now the employee can check your information against the credit card and can match your identification. Additionally, by placing those words on the back of a credit card, you are making it harder for an identity thief to steal your identity. Printing the words “SEE ID” on the back of your credit will not stop all attempts of identity theft. However, it will make it harder for the identity thief and will therefore, hopefully act as a deterrent. That is all you can really ask for in this day and age.

If you want to sign the back of your credit card, do what you feel will protect you against identity theft, however, as I stated above, I believe that signatures on the back of a credit card are ineffective and, at worst, help an identity thief accomplish his/her goal.