\n<\/span>I wear prescription glasses. No RayBans for me.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cDid you shop at a Piggly Wiggly in Chattanooga on January 5th<\/sup>? ** \u201cDid you purchase a pager from a telecommunications company in Russia on January 5th<\/sup>?\u201d ** \u00a0<\/em>\u201cOkay then, we\u2019ll get these charges removed, cancel your card, and get a new card out to you in the next two days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So yeah\u2014ultimately, when someone rips off your credit card number, it\u2019s not a very big deal, but it is a HUGE inconvenience.<\/p>\n And it is with that in mind that I was moved to research today\u2019s topic: just how does one prevent The Bad Guys from ripping off our credit card info??<\/p>\n Well, the bad news is, if you use a credit card, there is no way to be 100{5b94df0808d5051ae4460ba229ec68b809d99f898aebd4fa5019c7ba642362c2} certain it won\u2019t be ripped off (hence, my annual ritual with my bank). But it turns out there are a few rather atypical things you can do to minimize the risk of sponsoring someone\u2019s pager habit in Russia\u2026or at least minimize the headaches you\u2019ll have to endure when you do eventually get hacked. I\u2019ve outlined my five faves and summarized them below.<\/p>\n This woman is happy because she is buying SHOES!<\/p><\/div>\n Reserve a separate card that you use only for online purchases.<\/strong><\/p>\n The beauty of this is that if a hacker is able to access your digits and cause you to cancel your card, you still have a card in your wallet that you can use for day-to-day purchases. Yeah, you could go to a strictly cash basis while you wait for your bank to ship your new credit card, but frankly, in today\u2019s world that\u2019s a bit of a pain in the ass. Also, who doesn\u2019t want to earn air miles when they buy a venti triple mocha frappuccino? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n See this card right here? That’s my AUTOMATIC-BILLING-ONLY card, folks!<\/p><\/div>\n Use yet another card for your online automatic billing accounts.<\/strong><\/p>\n This special credit card never sees the light of day\u2026other than (metaphorically, of course) via the super-tight IT security systems that are employed by the sort of institutions that let you set up auto-billing (e.g., utility companies, insurance companies).<\/p>\n If\/when your regular credit card gets hacked, it\u2019s a HUGE relief knowing that your auto-billing accounts can remain as they were. It sucks big time when you have to go in and change all that account information due to some ne\u2019er-do-well using your account number to buy a new pair of Nikes. Knock wood, keeping one card exclusively for auto-billing has kept me from ever having to redo my online account billing.<\/p>\n Gee, this all looks so…innocent!<\/p><\/div>\n Look closely at the card swipe device at gas stations, ATMs, and other remote terminals.<\/strong><\/p>\n Does it seem \u201cwiggly\u201d? Do the buttons not seem quite flush with the surrounding housing? It\u2019s not a foolproof way to assess the situation, but thieves do occasionally install \u201cskimmers\u201d on top of legitimate terminals. Skimmers let them record your data, and there\u2019s usually a hidden camera nearby that lets them see what PIN you enter.<\/p>\n If anything seems fishy, avoid using the device. And even if it looks okay, use one hand to shield the keypad while you enter your PIN (or, in the case of many gas stations, your zip code). Bonus points: when you\u2019re done entering your PIN, keep your shielding hand in place for a count of five. This is because some of those hidden cameras are heat-sensing and can detect where your fingers have been after you\u2019ve punched the keypad. Give the pad a chance to return to ambient temperature as an added layer of security.<\/p>\n And you thought the only risk of dining out was salmonella….<\/p><\/div>\n When you give your card to a waiter, make sure the card they return is yours.<\/strong><\/p>\n This was a new one to me, but apparently, it\u2019s not that uncommon. Apparently\u2014especially in the restaurant business\u2014unscrupulous retailers will keep a stack of old credit cards on hand, and when you hand them YOUR American Express, they return an American Express of the same type (e.g., Platinum) to you\u2026but it\u2019s not yours. It\u2019s someone\u2019s expired or cancelled card. If you catch the error, the perpetrator can easily apologize for their mistake, disappear, and return with your real card. If you don\u2019t catch them? Well, they\u2019ve potentially got HOURS to use your card before you notice the switch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n …and don’t even get me started on her shoes…!<\/p><\/div>\n Don\u2019t give your credit card number over the phone in a public place!!<\/strong><\/p>\n I know I said this article featured unusual tips, and this one seems like a \u201cWell, DUH!\u201d entry, but I cannot even count the number of times I\u2019ve been in an airport lounge and had some person next to me conduct full financial transactions on their phone. It\u2019s probably only seconded by the number of conversations I\u2019ve overheard that detail in gross detail a personal medical issue.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know why it is that people feel they enter some sort of bubble of privacy when then start gabbing on the ol\u2019 mobile, but they clearly do. Just because it\u2019s common sense to avoid this behavior, it clearly is not common practice. So don\u2019t be this person. If you must conduct financial business on the phone, only give your financial details to reputable institutions that you\u2019ve contacted yourself, and for gawds sake, do it in private.<\/p>\n * * * * *<\/p>\n In this article, I\u2019ve focused specifically on the topic of credit card theft, but future installations in this series will look at other ways in which our personal data is at risk\u2026and what we can do to secure it. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n Want to learn even more about keeping yourself from being A Victim of Circumstance? It\u2019s my least favorite annual ritual. Every year\u2014at LEAST once\u2014I receive notice from my bank that my credit card number is showing \u201csuspicious activity.\u201d Usually, this notice comes in the form of me attempting to purchase something at a store, and the store (embarrassingly, especially for someone who is absolutely OCD about never carrying a balance) declining my card. And … <\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Never even been to Tennessee.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Um, you\u2019re kidding, right? And do people even USE pagers anymore??<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n**NOTE: All these fraudulent charges have actually happened to me!<\/h6>\n
More importantly, however, credit card hacking is part of the constellation of crimes that includes the far-more-horrific issue of Identity Theft. <\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nDownload my free \u201cEmergency Preparedness for Women\u201d guide <\/em><\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/em><\/span>!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"