Keeping your credit card information safe is mandatory. Here are some important tips to help you to keep your card safe and secure, for both online and offline transactions:

Practice Credit Card Protection from Day One 

Sign the back of a new card right away. This protects you if the card falls into someone else’s hands. Turn on suspicious activity alerts (both on email and text). Spend a few minutes setting the password and PIN for your credit card account. 

Keep your Card Number Private

Don’t let anyone see your card when you’re out in public. Consider paperless statements and making payments online to remove your sensitive information from the postal system.

Update your Contact Information

Sign up for alerts with your bank/credit card company. Check to make sure you’ve provided your current phone number and email so they can reach you quickly in the event of fraud or suspicious activity. 

Be Careful with your Receipts

If there is extra space on your receipt, draw a line through it so no one can write in any additional numbers. It’s also a good idea to check your receipts against your bank account to spot potentially fraudulent transactions quickly. Finally, don’t just throw out any duplicates or old receipts. Shred the ones you don’t need and securely file the rest.

Secure your Devices and Networks

If you allow your browser to store your credit card number, you could be vulnerable. To prevent this, consider turning off the Autofill function in each browser that you use.

Protect Yourself Online

You’re probably already practicing basic online and mobile safety, but consider taking these credit card-specific measures as well:

  • Know your merchant. When shopping online, look for sites with “https” in their web addresses (the “s” stands for “secure”) and the green lock icon.
  • Type for each transaction. Never allow your credit card number to be stored on an online shopping site.
  • Add a layer. Consider using an online payment system or mobile payment service like Paytm, Google Pay, Phonepe, Cred, or any banking UPI to keep your credit card number out of the hands of merchants, so that if a merchant is hacked, it can’t leak your account number.
  • Watch out for public Wi-Fi. Don’t shop or conduct financial transactions, including checking your accounts, using public Wi-Fi.

Check your Account Often

Reviewing your recent account activity is fundamental to credit card safety. You can do it using the bank’s app, online or via mobile banking. 

Report Lost Cards and Suspected Fraud right away

If you lose your credit card or suspect fraudulent activity, contact your bank or credit card issuer right away. They can block your card and account number so no one else can use them and provide you with a new card. 

Follow these tips and stay safe while using your credit card.