09.08.09 | Avoid Credit Card Theft
Credit card theft is something we are all weary of, but do we do enough to protect ourselves? A former colleague of mine was a victim of credit card theft this past May. Fortunately for her she picked up on the fraudulent activity within days of the card being compromised after calling to get an account balance. It’s a scary thing when someone breaks into your safe haven.
Just last month the Department of Justice announced that more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers were allegedly stolen by a group of hackers. They designed a program that was able to find its way around a network’s firewall to steal credit and debit card information. This effected Hannaford’s, 7-Eleven, and Heartland Payment Services customers. Inevitably it will happen again, but there are some things you can do to protect yourself.
Protection Tips
- Call and request a new credit card number from your lending bank every two years. The reason it’s important to change your account number and not just cancel your card and apply for a new one is because the length of time you stay with a credit card company is counted positively toward your FICO score.
- Become more vigilant. Check out your account statement once a week online or make a quick call to ensure the balance is consistent to where you believe it should be.
- Don’t ever write your entire account number on a check if you are manually sending in a payment. The last four numbers are sufficient. The billing department will be able to match your name and cross reference the last four numbers to apply your payment.
- An alert service is great to have for several reasons. If you have a credit card that you seldom use you may not realize it has been compromised. If the perpetrator changed the billing address you’d never even receive a statement. That would in turn lead to missed payments and a poor FICO score. Nowadays you can sample a service for FREE and see what you think. It’s nice to have that insurance in your back pocket.
All it takes is a few simple steps to help keep you one step ahead of the hackers.
Scholarshippoints Code: THEFTOHNO
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Very informative and helpful.
September 23rd, 2009 | #
Great stuff to know! I don’t have a credit card and don’t plan to, but if I ever do I will definetly do some of the things they reccommend!
September 23rd, 2009 | #
The ‘Avoid Credit Card Theft’ blog was very informative. Thank you posting it!
September 23rd, 2009 | #
yeah try your hardest to avoid this because my sister had to go through a lot of unnecessary stuff after getting credit card theft.
September 24th, 2009 | #
this is helpful advice especially for those of us who like to shop and are careless about where we
September 24th, 2009 | #
Great advice! We can no longer think “this only happens to other people”. I will make the time each week to keep track of activity on my credit cards.
September 24th, 2009 | #
It is very important these days to keep a physcial paper trail on your money, because sometimes computers mess up and people have become crafty with taking things from right under peoples nose on the computer. Just remember don’t be tooo friendly with the computer, still be paper friendly.
September 24th, 2009 | #
Thank you, it was very interesting
September 25th, 2009 | #
Thanks for the tips. My friend’s credit card got stolen and she followed some of these steps to ensure that no one could use it.
September 26th, 2009 | #
thank very much!
Now I know.
September 28th, 2009 | #
I’ve always been scared of the risks I’d be taking when I get a credit card. This article was very insightful.
September 29th, 2009 | #
This is very helpful
September 29th, 2009 | #
thanks for the info. next time, i will take care more my credit card.
September 29th, 2009 | #
thanks for the info. it is good to know this type of information.
September 29th, 2009 | #
This will most assuradly serve me in the future, I’ve never liked credit cards, but they are a necessary evil… so these tips will be employed.
September 29th, 2009 | #
Very informative. Glad i read this.
September 30th, 2009 | #
This was very informative and I will definitely return to this page as soon as I get my credit card.
October 1st, 2009 | #
Since, these days, the major form of payment is credit cards–this information is most helpful
October 1st, 2009 | #
I did not realize I could change my account number. Definitely going to do that.
October 1st, 2009 | #
i do not have a credit card,but i do find the information very interesting.
October 2nd, 2009 | #
unfortunately i had to learn this information the hard way. i have had my card number stolen before and it made life ten times harder than it had to be at the time. all i can say is, take this advice and run with it!!
October 2nd, 2009 | #
fyi – if you have a wallet size copy of your birth certificate get it OUT of your wallet – coupled with a drivers license, it gives thiefs all the info they need to steal your identity!
October 2nd, 2009 | #
Very helpful and understandable. Thanks.
October 2nd, 2009 | #
Great tips and advise. Dont ever think “This cant happen to me” It goes on all the time. Lets try to put a SYP to it
October 2nd, 2009 | #
Yes i have had this happen and this advice really was an eye opener thank you
October 3rd, 2009 | #
Everyone needs to be informed of all these tips because credit card theft has the potential to ruin someone’s life.
October 3rd, 2009 | #
Credit Card Theft is a scary thing to experience. It didn,t happen to me but people around me. It almost makes you not want to apply for a credit card at all. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
October 3rd, 2009 | #
wow this was great
October 4th, 2009 | #
Good tips! Very helpful!
October 4th, 2009 | #
thank you. it was very helpful. i learned new things.
October 5th, 2009 | #
great information. Just learning about being careful about getting into trouble with credit.
October 6th, 2009 | #
great info …thanks for it
October 6th, 2009 | #
Maybe I should bookmark this good information.
October 6th, 2009 | #
great tips… but if you don’t have one it won’t get stolen
October 7th, 2009 | #
This is very helpful, and I need to start following this advice.
October 7th, 2009 | #
It very necessary to know the different way that people can try to still your identity
October 7th, 2009 | #
great!
October 7th, 2009 | #
It’s very helpful information
October 7th, 2009 | #
i can really use this in the future very helpful
October 8th, 2009 | #
good advice, even though it seems like we should all know this anyway, it’s good to be reminded!
October 8th, 2009 | #
Good information.
October 8th, 2009 | #
This info is very helpful and easy to use.
October 8th, 2009 | #
Good information. Very helpful
October 9th, 2009 | #
very useful info! credit card theft is a scary thing
October 9th, 2009 | #
Thanks for the helpful tips
October 9th, 2009 | #
This happened to my sister and she couldn’t even take out a student loan anymore because her credit was so screwed up, and so many other accounts somehow got under her name. This really can happen, it’s a nightmare!
October 11th, 2009 | #
Very helpful. I have a friend that got his identity stolen so his credit is ruined..
October 12th, 2009 | #
helpful info
October 12th, 2009 | #
Interesting and informative
October 14th, 2009 | #
I learned a lot from this. Now I know what to do to keep my credit safe.
October 14th, 2009 | #
helpful
October 15th, 2009 | #
i dont think im ever going to get a credit card…
October 16th, 2009 | #
cool and helpful
October 16th, 2009 | #
very helpful
October 17th, 2009 | #
Thanks you for this! I need to start checking my card online more…
October 17th, 2009 | #
Wow i’ve learned something new. Thanks for informing me
October 18th, 2009 | #
good and helpful tips
October 18th, 2009 | #
great info and news
October 18th, 2009 | #
Good. Info. Thanks.
October 19th, 2009 | #
Surprising info
October 20th, 2009 | #
This article is very helpful… i will definitely use this tips
October 20th, 2009 | #
This had great information and can be very helpful.
October 20th, 2009 | #
very helpful & informative
October 21st, 2009 | #
woow wonderful
October 21st, 2009 | #
i learned alot
October 21st, 2009 | #
Great info to know Thank a lotfor the info
October 21st, 2009 | #
Very informational.
October 22nd, 2009 | #
that was some useful info
October 22nd, 2009 | #
I didn’t even know you could ask for a new number. very helpful
October 22nd, 2009 | #
very useful
October 23rd, 2009 | #
This was very helpful.
October 23rd, 2009 | #
My dad and mom have had their credit cards used by others. Someone charged computer services on my mom’s card. Someone used my dad’s card on his ebay account. All was resolved correctly, but it scared us!
October 24th, 2009 | #
This was extremely helpful.
October 26th, 2009 | #
i wouldnt want to have anyone stealing my money.. great information
October 28th, 2009 | #
thanks that was helpful
October 28th, 2009 | #
credit card theft along with idenity theft really happens, and can make life miserable.
October 28th, 2009 | #
i don’t think i will be getting a credit card but this is very helpful
October 29th, 2009 | #
it is a very real, scary situation to be in. There are many people out there who will take advantage of someone’s situation…..just be careful!
October 30th, 2009 | #
I didn’t know you could request a new credit card number. Great info. Thanks!
November 2nd, 2009 | #
this is scary
November 2nd, 2009 | #
this was very helpful
November 2nd, 2009 | #
just learned about this in personal finance class
November 3rd, 2009 | #
SO HELPFUL!
November 3rd, 2009 | #
WOw I am scared now! No JK
November 3rd, 2009 | #
The best any of us could do prevent credit card theft is keep our personal information under safeguard. The tips suggested on this blog are very helpful and also we should always shred papers when pertaining to finances, and never ever! log onto a computer to check your account information that is for public use such as a library or even at school.
November 3rd, 2009 | #
Thanks for the information
November 3rd, 2009 | #
Credit card theft sucks!
November 3rd, 2009 | #
i did not know you could request a new numer. Credit card theft is common and very harmful, i speak from personal experience after seeing my aunt go through a credit card theft.
November 5th, 2009 | #
there are so many things that i’ve learnt, ere i mean changing ur number..wow
November 6th, 2009 | #
I don’t own one either, but they information on here i can tell is quite helpful!
November 7th, 2009 | #
Thanks very helpfull.
November 8th, 2009 | #
Very useful and true.
November 8th, 2009 | #
This is really helpful!
November 9th, 2009 | #
its a great article to help people and inform them about thefts steeling their identities
November 10th, 2009 | #
Credit cards are a big deal, theft is more prone to those who are not familiar with handling very important items on a daily basis, like students.
November 11th, 2009 | #
i like this article it is very informative…i’m gonna read up more on these topics
November 12th, 2009 | #
This article was very informative.
November 13th, 2009 | #
Thanks for the advice
November 14th, 2009 | #
this was a very helpful readinf. I am glad I read it.
November 16th, 2009 | #
I do not have a credit card but will make sure that I am careful when I do get one.
November 18th, 2009 | #
thank you it is very educated especially to us
November 19th, 2009 | #
Wow! I will soon be getting a credit card but now I will be sure to make sure I’m extra careful with it.
November 19th, 2009 | #
What godd information . more people need to read it
November 20th, 2009 | #