Today we will explain how thieves steal that information and what you can do to stay one step ahead of them. The majority of people who report fraud say that it occurred through a phone call.
Never give out personal information over the phone, no matter how urgent or angry the caller may sound. If you are concerned that it may be a legitimate call, hang up and call back using the number you normally use to ensure that you are talking to the right person.
A malicious email can look like it came from a legitimate business and often has a sense of urgency to it. It may also ask you for personal or financial information or ask you to click on a link for more instructions. Never share your personal information or click a link in an unsolicited email or text message. If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, contact the company directly using the information provided on an account statement, not information provided in the email.
It happens more often than you may think! Protect yourself by always shredding your documents with a quality cross shredder or micro shredder. This includes bills, bank statements, receipts, medical billings, credit card offers, canceled checks or any other items that contain personal or financial information.
Your mailbox is another target for thieves. At a minimum, you should closely monitor your transactions and make sure you have account alerts set up to notify you of anything suspicious.
Whether you were the victim of a data breach or not, it's also smart to use a credit monitoring service. These services can notify you of any changes to your credit file, and many are available free of charge. There's nothing anyone can do to guarantee they won't be a victim of credit card fraud. But when you understand the methods criminals use to steal your credit card information, you have a much better chance of preventing this crime.
Those are just a few reasons why our experts rate this card as a top pick to help get control of your debt. Read The Ascent's full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes. Lyle is a writer specializing in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.
Advertiser Disclosure We do receive compensation from some partners whose offers appear on this page. We have not reviewed all available products or offers. Compensation may impact the order in which offers appear on page, but our editorial opinions and ratings are not influenced by compensation.
Search Icon Click here to search Search For. Credit Cards Top Picks. Banks Top Picks. Looking for a place to park your cash? Brokers Top Broker Picks. Robo Advisor and Crypto Picks. Mortgages Top Picks. Insurances Auto Insurance. Loans Top Picks. Thinking about taking out a loan? Knowledge Knowledge Section. Recent Articles. The Ascent Knowledge Credit Cards. Here's how your credit card information could fall into the wrong hands.
Malware Hackers create all kinds of malware that can steal your credit card information when you enter it on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Here are some of the most common methods hackers use to install malware on a victim's device: They send it as an email attachment. If you click the attachment and install it, your device will be infected. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team.
Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. You have money questions.
Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate.
The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site.
Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
This content is powered by HomeInsurance. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.
While the introduction of chip-and-pin technology made it more difficult for someone to use a stolen credit card for fraudulent transactions in person, hackers tend to be endlessly creative when it comes to theft. The reality is, there are plenty of ways thieves can get their hands on your credit card account numbers, which they can easily use to make purchases or wreak other types of havoc using your name.
A stolen credit card or account number could also be one of the first signs of identity theft, so keep an eye out for credit card fraud and take steps to mitigate the damage if you find any. With your physical credit card no longer the typical target, you may be wondering how hackers and thieves can get their hands on your credit card number, to begin with.
There are plenty of ways this can happen, including the following:. Phishing emails may look official, but these fraudulent messages are crafted with a nefarious purpose. Most phishing emails try to get you to click a button or link that takes you to a familiar-looking fraudulent site to enter your account information.
Another common phishing tactic is to provide an urgent and entirely bogus reason that you need to call a company, like your credit card company or Social Security office. Downloading or opening the wrong file from an email or website can add spyware to your computer, which is put there with the goal of exporting your card details and other information hackers can use to steal your money or your identity. Be careful what you download and prevent spyware by purchasing your own antivirus software.
Public internet networks, like the ones you find in hotels and airports, can easily put you at risk if you enter your account information or open sensitive documents and someone is monitoring the network.
Make sure to install a VPN on your computer if you need to use the internet away from home fairly often.
0コメント