What Everybody Ought to Know about Protecting Themselves from Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft
Protecting yourself from credit card fraud and identity theft has become even more important with the unrelenting succession of security breaches, such as last week's theft of 40 million credit card numbers. Here are seven specific things you can do now to help protect yourself from credit card fraud and identity theft.
Boone, NC (PRWEB) June 21, 2005 — With the relentless string of online and
offline security breaches this year, including the most recent theft of 40
million credit card numbers reported by MasterCard last Friday, protecting
yourself from credit card fraud and identity theft has become even more
important. Internet ScamBusters, one of the oldest and most comprehensive online
clearinghouses for information about Internet scams, has created a list of seven
things you can do now to help protect yourself from credit card fraud and
identity theft.
"Being smart and taking last year's protective measures
is no longer enough," says Dr. Audri G. Lanford, Co-Editor of Internet
ScamBusters. "When we learn about new online and offline security breaches every
month, a more proactive approach is needed," says Dr. Lanford.
Internet
ScamBusters’ list of seven specific things you can do to help protect yourself
from credit card fraud and identity theft includes traditional advice (items #1,
#2, #3, and #7), as well as some less known suggestions (#4, #5 and #6). Here is
a summary:
1. Check your credit card and bank statements frequently and
carefully.
2. Notify your card issuer immediately if you find any
unauthorized charges on any of your credit card statements.
3. If you
discover a problem, follow the advice in our article: "What to Do if Your Credit Card or Wallet is Stolen."
4. Consider using
substitute, one-time use credit card numbers, called "controlled payment
numbers" or "virtual account numbers," for your online purchases. These
substitute numbers let you shop online without using your real credit card
number so they protect you from security breaches, such as the theft of 40
million credit card numbers last week.
5. Consider a credit monitoring
service. These services are controversial and expensive, but they may be worth
thinking about given the growing problem of identity theft.
6. Consider
putting a "fraud alert" on your credit file with the major credit card bureaus
as a precautionary measure. Although there are certainly significant downsides
to adding a "fraud alert," it is worth considering this option, especially if
you don't want to invest in a credit monitoring service.
7. Follow the
advice in our article, Credit Card
Fraud: 21 Tips to Protect Yourself.
You can find the details about
each of these suggestions to protect yourself from credit card fraud and
identity theft here.
http://www.scambusters.org/mastercard.html
About
Internet ScamBusters
Internet ScamBusters, the #1 publication on Internet
fraud, shows you how to protect yourself from clever scammers — online and
offline. Established in November 1994, it is a public service by Audri and Jim
Lanford that includes a free weekly email newsletter. Internet ScamBusters
offers a lively, entertaining and opinionated approach to avoiding the most
popular scams, viruses, spyware, phishing scams, identity theft ploys, credit
card fraud schemes, and urban legends making the rounds.
Contact
Information:
Audri G. Lanford, Ph.D.
Internet
ScamBusters
828-262-5885
http://www.scambusters.org
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb253551.htm