Protect Your Credit Card from Frauds & Phishing with Simple Tips

In the present day age of information, your credit card details are almost always at risk of theft. Once stolen, these details can help the scammers loot you off Thousands and Lakhs of rupees, even before you get to know about it. Hence, it is strongly recommended that you abide by the below-mentioned tips to safeguard your Credit Card from probable phishing attacks and other fraudulent activities.

Tip 1- Ensure the Safety of Your Credit Cards

The safety of your Credit Card is paramount. Ideally, you shouldn’t carry your Credit Card along with you when you’re sure that you wouldn’t need to use it. However, sometimes it is crucial to carry your Credit Cards, especially when you are out for shopping, dining, or other entertaining activities with your friends and family. At such times, you should keep the card in a wallet or purse which you keep close to yourself at all times. In case you’re about to visit a crowded place, try keeping the card in a smaller wallet, which makes it tricky for any thief to get their hands on.

Even when you’re using your Citibank Credit Card or any other card for making a purchase, don’t keep it out for too long, lest a thief might take pictures of it. The information, once captured in the pictures, can then be used by the thief to make unscrupulous purchases or payments.

Tip 2 – Never Let Your Credit Card Number Stay Exposed

Documents carrying your Credit Card number, such as your monthly billing statements, should be carefully shredded and only then discarded. If not, miscreants may find these documents to retrieve your Credit Card information for wrongful use.

You should also be very careful while discarding expired or cancelled credit cards, and should preferably break them or shred them before tossing them out.

Tip 3 – Never Sign Blank Credit Card Receipts

Whenever you make a purchase using your Credit Card, the merchant may ask you to sign their copy of the receipt. At the time of signing the receipt, make sure to cross-check the amount. If you see any blank spaces on the card which may be used to forge numbers, cross those spaces out before putting your signature, else the cashier may charge you for a higher amount.

Tip 4 – Never Share Your Credit Card Information

Never share your Credit Card details over a phone call, email, or message that you haven’t initiated. The best Credit Card providers of the nation take painstaking measures to ensure that no member of their customer care service ever asks you to share your Credit Card details over the phone. Hence, if you receive any call wanting such information, posing to be a bank official or a customer care executive offering services, immediately disconnect the call, as it is most likely a scammer on the other end of the line.

Tip 5 – Exercise Safety with Your Credit Card Online

Whenever you make online purchases using your Yes Bank Credit Cardor any other card for that matter, make sure that the site you are purchasing from is a reputable one, and has a secured gateway for the payment process. A simple way to check this is to look for https right before the website’s URL in the address bar. Yet another indicator of the safety of the website is the sign of a ‘lock’ in the lower right corner of the browser. Besides, you should always use strong passwords when storing your Credit Card information on online shopping portals that you frequently use.

Additionally, when it comes to your email inbox, avoid clicking on any link which may ask you to enter your Credit Card details.

Tip 6 – Report Your Lost or Stolen Credit Card Immediately

As soon as you realise that your Credit Card is missing, or has been stolen, make sure to report the same to the customer care department of your bank. The bank will then immediately block your card, thereby preventing any fraudulent charges on the same. More often than not, the leading Credit Card providers offer cover against Credit Card theft and subsequent charges. Timely reporting of the theft can help you benefit from this cover.

Tip 7 – Review Your Billing Statements Each Month

A lot of times it so happens that Credit Card scammers make small, insignificant purchases using your Credit Card details, They wait to see if these transactions go unnoticed, and may eventually make bigger purchases, leaving you on the losing end. Hence, you should make it a point to analyse your billing statements every month and look for any charges that seem unfamiliar. If you find such transactions, report them to your bank immediately. Not only will the bank reverse these charges if reported within 30 days from the date of transaction, but may also issue you a new Credit Card in a bid to safeguard you from such unscrupulous activities in the future.

Tip 8 – Beware of Credit Card Skimmers at ATMs

In some cases, Credit Card thieves make use of skimming devices in high-traffic areas such as ATMs and Petrol Pumps, when the user is almost always in a hurry. The skimmers installed in the swipe machines capture your Credit Card information, which can be later accessed by the thieves and used to make unscrupulous payments. Hence, if you find anything unusual about the machine where you are about to swipe your card it is suggested you do not swipe the card.

These are some of the simple, yet highly efficient, ways to use Credit Cards safely.

Also Read: 9 Security Tips if You Frequently Use a Credit Card for Online Shopping