The holiday season is here! Tis’ the season to relax, spend time with your loved ones and eat lots of delicious food. It is also the time of year in which, for most of us (myself included), we increase our spending. It may not come to a surprise that at the same time as your spending increases, so do the chances of credit card fraud. In order to decrease your chances of this happening to you, here are a few tips to keep in mind this holiday season. 

Track your Purchases 

Regardless of if you’re going out to a restaurant or going Christmas shopping, this will unfortunately increase the chances of your credit card being swiped/leaked. One way to avoid this is to keep track of all your purchases. Though it may be tedious at the time, it is good practice to track all of your spending to avoid any “random” purchases that could go unnoticed on your account. If you do notice an unsolicited purchase that was not made on your behalf, freeze your card immediately and contact your bank informing them of the fraudulent purchase made on your account. This can be done online or by phoning the number on the back of your credit card.   

Protect your PIN 

Our credit card PIN is something that should be kept a secret. It is important that you do not share it with other people and try memorizing it to avoid writing it down and keeping it somewhere that it can be found by someone else. It is also good practice to change your PIN often, making sure it isn’t something someone can guess, for example, avoid using your birthday, Social Insurance Number, address or telephone number. 

Protect yourself Online 

It has become a daily norm to shop online nowadays. From just a few clicks it makes it easy to complete all your Christmas shopping in the comfort of your own home. Though this is an easy way to shop, it is also an easy way for scammers to access your banking information. Make sure to use secure sites; when sharing personal information or buying something online. Look for websites with addresses starting with “https” or with a padlock image in the address bar. Another way to protect yourself online is by keeping your computer firewall anti-virus and anti-spyware systems up to date to keep extra padding from anyone accessing your information. 

Spend your holiday relaxing, spending time with loved ones and eating delicious food; implement these tips so you don’t spend it worrying about credit card fraud.

Happy holidays and happy shopping! 

Have a great weekend,

Paige and Tracey

Source:

https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-fraud.html

Photo by Giovanni Gagliardi on Unsplash