Incidents of credit card frauds have been on a rise in recent years with the users’ ignorance about safety measures being a major cause. To ensure that you continue to reap the benefits of using credit cards without the fear of their misuse and fraud, you should keep certain safety tips in mind. So, before you apply for a credit card online, do educate yourself about their functioning, the possible causes of frauds and misuse and taking steps to prevent them.
How to Keep Your Credit Card Safe?
Some credit card users, especially those who are new to this financial tool, are unaware of ways to keep their cards and the online transactions carried out with them safe. Here are certain tips to enable them to ensure safety of their cards and funds.
#1: Shop Only on Trusted and Established Websites
While doing online shopping, do not get lured by attractive advertisements from new websites offering hefty discounts. Instead, shop only at established and trusted websites. You need to provide your credit card details while making online payments and when you do so at a new or unfamiliar site you are risking the safety of your credit card. You can always check the security of the page where you need to enter your credit card information. First, the URL in the browser address bar should begin with ‘https://” and secondly, there should be a lock next to the URL indicating that it is a secure website.
#2: Conduct Online Transactions from Your Own Machines
It is best to carry out online transactions via your own computer or phone and not use someone else’s computer or a public network. Public computers and networks can easily be used to steal all your important information thereby putting your cards and bank accounts at risk. Another thing you can do to protect your online transactions is to ensure that all your systems have adequate protection. This means you should keep the anti-virus and anti-malware software in your systems updated to ensure that your computer systems are safe and can be used for carrying out online transactions including credit card purchases and payments.
#3: Use the Same Card for Online Purchases
Using a single card for all your online transactions is not only convenient but safe too. You should also opt for receiving text messages for every transaction carried out through your card. This will alert you if anybody misuses or clones your card and carries out any kind of transaction.
#4: Create Unique Passwords and Pin
A tried and tested method of protecting your credit card is setting up unique passwords and PIN numbers that are difficult to guess or decipher. An effective password is a mix of characters in upper and small cases, numbers, and special symbols. Such passwords are difficult to crack and thus enhance the safety.
#5: Keep Your Computer’s Operating System Updated
Downloading the system updates is quite useful for ensuring the protection of your machine. Most of the time these updates offer adequate security.
Follow these tips while using your credit card online to make any kind of purchases or payments. You can even sign up for additional protection for your card transactions by paying some additional credit card charges.
