The expansion of the range of consumer offers in the field of lending, as well as the gradually increasing level of financial literacy of our compatriots leads to the widespread use of credit cards.
Having a credit card is safer than storing cash, but is it safe to use a plastic card with the current level of crime and the emergence of new types of fraud, including on the Internet? How to ensure the security of credit cards, and what precautions are taken by domestic credit and financial institutions against the actions of fraudsters?
The most common type of fraud is sending an SMS message to the client with the text that the credit card is blocked. Most often, attackers are asked to tell the secret code on the back of the card, its number, its expiration date, the class of the plastic card. All these data are classified as confidential, and they should not be disclosed in any case. And the unblocking of a credit card – bank employees remind – is carried out only upon a written application of the client at the bank branch. Thus, to a large extent, the security of credit cards should be carried out by the user of the banking service himself. To do this, it is necessary to have a minimum level of financial literacy, which, as a rule, is prescribed in the contract with the bank for issuing the card.
According to experts, it is most difficult to ensure the security of credit cards on the Internet. The least that a cardholder can do is to carefully check the address of the website through which he makes payments, as well as carefully read user reviews about the services on which purchases are made using a credit card. Phishing (or unauthorized use of personal financial data) is a "worldwide" problem and banking security services are working to solve it ahead of time. Sites marked with the words "verified by Visa" or "MasterCard Secure Code" have an increased degree of protection from Internet scammers.
Credit card security: basic measures
The bank informs its customers about new types of credit card fraud appearing in our country. On the organization's website, you can find a constantly growing list of SMS texts that plastic card holders can receive, as well as bank recommendations regarding the further actions of their customers.
In order to ensure the security of credit cards, experts advise you to remember the main thing: in no case should you tell unauthorized persons confidential information about the card, especially in telephone conversations. The only exception may be cases when the call to the bank is initiated by the client himself. Having received a suspicious message with a recommendation to send any data in SMS, call back, transfer funds, etc., the bank's client can call back to the official phones of the institution and clarify whether the employee requested such information. Similarly, the client is not obliged to answer questions from people posing as bank employees if the call is incoming.
If the customer discovers the theft of the card, or its blocking by an ATM, as well as if the customer is sure that his PIN code has become known to outsiders, experts strongly advise to contact the bank as soon as possible by special phones for temporary suspension of the card. The security of credit cards is in the hands of the client: by being attentive, as well as observing the listed precautions, it is convenient and profitable to use a bank credit line!
Having a credit card is safer than storing cash, but is it safe to use a plastic card with the current level of crime and the emergence of new types of fraud, including on the Internet? How to ensure the security of credit cards, and what precautions are taken by domestic credit and financial institutions against the actions of fraudsters?
According to experts, it is most difficult to ensure the security of credit cards on the Internet. The least that a cardholder can do is to carefully check the address of the website through which he makes payments, as well as carefully read user reviews about the services on which purchases are made using a credit card. Phishing (or unauthorized use of personal financial data) is a "worldwide" problem and banking security services are working to solve it ahead of time. Sites marked with the words "verified by Visa" or "MasterCard Secure Code" have an increased degree of protection from Internet scammers.
Credit card security: basic measures
- After receiving the plastic, first of all, you need to put your signature in a special field designed for this.
- It is best to remember the PIN code, at least keep it written down, but never carry it with you and do not store it with a credit card in your wallet. This is a set of numbers that only the client can know. He has the right not to share this information with anyone, including bank employees.
- The checks remaining after making any payment transactions (including unsuccessful ones) are best kept, at least during the first year of using the card. This will help in case of possible controversial issues.
- To increase the security of credit cards, it will help to connect to the SMS notification service for any transactions made using the card, as well as setting a limit on cash withdrawals or restrictions on the amount of the payment transaction.
- When shopping in shopping malls, the credit card holder must personally enter the PIN code into the payment terminal without telling the code numbers to the seller and without giving the card to the store staff.
- Card readers are sometimes installed to access the premises using a credit card. Such a device does not require entering a PIN code.
The bank informs its customers about new types of credit card fraud appearing in our country. On the organization's website, you can find a constantly growing list of SMS texts that plastic card holders can receive, as well as bank recommendations regarding the further actions of their customers.
In order to ensure the security of credit cards, experts advise you to remember the main thing: in no case should you tell unauthorized persons confidential information about the card, especially in telephone conversations. The only exception may be cases when the call to the bank is initiated by the client himself. Having received a suspicious message with a recommendation to send any data in SMS, call back, transfer funds, etc., the bank's client can call back to the official phones of the institution and clarify whether the employee requested such information. Similarly, the client is not obliged to answer questions from people posing as bank employees if the call is incoming.
If the customer discovers the theft of the card, or its blocking by an ATM, as well as if the customer is sure that his PIN code has become known to outsiders, experts strongly advise to contact the bank as soon as possible by special phones for temporary suspension of the card. The security of credit cards is in the hands of the client: by being attentive, as well as observing the listed precautions, it is convenient and profitable to use a bank credit line!