Protecting your plastic in an online world

Six tips for keeping your credit card fraud-free

It’s bad enough when the credit card bill arrives and you’re stunned at the damage you manage to do over the course of the month. Eating out, stocking up the wine fridge, soccer fees, hair treatments and how much did you spend on socks? (There was a sale…) But what if the damage was inflicted by someone else, a complete stranger, without your knowledge?

Credit card fraud affected nearly half a million Canadians last year, with nearly $366 million of phony charges, according to figures from the Canadian Bankers Association. Fortunately, bank-issued Visas and MasterCards provide a zero-liability policy, which means that you are not on the hook for charges proven to be fraudulent. The credit card companies also monitor activity on your card so they can proactively alert you to suspicious activity (10 flat screen televisions this morning in Shanghai…I don’t think so). Some fraudsters are more subtle however, charging small amounts to your card over a long period of time that manage to escape the notice of the credit card companies…and maybe even you.

If you shop online a lot (and these days, who doesn’t?), it pays to be extra-cautious with your little plastic friend. Beware of these tricks:

• Prize pitches – You’ve seen them online, received them as junk mail and maybe they’ve even had the audacity to call you. If you’ve randomly “won a prize” for which you didn’t enter any contest, didn’t buy a ticket for and can’t think of why you’d be eligible other than being gullible, don’t bite. The prize will almost surely end up being a nasty one.

• Phishing lures – Neither your credit card company nor your bank will ever email you or call you and ask for your PIN information or passwords. If you need to do an online transaction, don’t click through an email, even if it looks official, since many phishing scams create look-alike websites to trap customers. Type in the URL of your bank and credit card company when you visit a site so that you know you’re in the right place.

• Anti-virus scams – You’re happily scanning new fall sweaters online and suddenly a pop-up box appears on your screen warning you that your computer is infected with a virus. Do not click on the link to “fix” your computer as scammers can copy your hard drive and then will ask for your credit card information in return for their evil service.

• Check your connection – When you do any sort of financial transaction online, do it on your own private computer with a secure, password-encrypted Internet connection. Check your browser page to ensure the ‘lock” or security feature is engaged, indicating that the site is using encrypted software. A secure site is also indicated by an “https” rather than “http” in the website’s URL.

• Multi-tasking pages – Stay focused when you’re doing financial transactions online and make sure the secure site is the only page or tab open in your browser. A non-secure website running simultaneously could put your information at risk. Make sure to log out of the site when you’ve finished, clear the cache and close the browser.

• Password privacy – We don’t really have to remind you to keep your passwords and PINs private, do we? OK, once again, here are the rules: Don’t allow your computer to “remember” your passwords; change your passwords regularly; do not use the same password for every site; make your password tough to figure out with a mix of letters, numbers, capitals and lowercase letters; and don’t share them with anyone. (Then, if you can figure out how to remember all your ultra-secure passwords, please let us know.)

And if it happens anyway…

The most important thing you can do if you notice fraudulent charges on your card is to report them right away. Credit card companies will examine your transaction history and investigate the vendor where the transaction occurred. There is a pretty big likelihood that if your card was comprised somewhere, other cards were used as well. Most cases are quickly confirmed as fraud and the credit card holder is not held liable for the charges. In rare cases, the credit card holder becomes involved in having to prove that the charge was not their own.

The best way to avoid this is to stay on top of your credit card activity – check your statements every month and contact your credit card company if anything seems suspicious.

Of course, this means there’s no more denying to yourself how much you spend on take-out Thai food and pedicures. Yep, those are the charges you’ve got to face. As Thomas Jefferson said, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

 

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