A Little Inconvenience Offers Lots of Security

Do you worry about someone stealing your credit card information and enjoying a shopping spree on you? Hopefully you have never had to experience such a thing. When I was young, I had my purse stolen out of my car (don’t ask why it was there, I was young). At 2 am in the morning I was calling my bank and credit cards to let them know of the theft so they could close all my accounts and open new ones.

However, what if someone had left my purse but just stolen my information? I don’t think I would have gone through the trouble of calling everyone and closing my accounts. In fact, I may not have even realized it happened. When you hand over your credit cards at restaurants and stores your information is input somewhere for others to see.  You want that information safe or, even better, you want someone looking out for you before you even know to look out for yourself.

It’s important to know how your credit card company protects you. Fortunately, your credit card company can help.

Most banks have a zero-liability policy for fraudulent charges made on customers’ credit cards and will frequently see these purchases before the cardholder does. But another important tip is to register on your bank or credit card’s online account center, where you can keep track of purchases daily or weekly rather than waiting for your statement. If you notice an unfamiliar charge, call your financial institution right away to let them know. Sign up for paperless statements if offered, thereby avoiding this information being sent through the mail and potentially getting lost.

Discover’s $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee means you’re never responsible for unauthorized charges on your Discover Card account. Discover has Proactive Fraud Monitoring, which is constantly monitoring cardmembers’ Discover Card accounts for potential and actual fraudulent purchases, and have peace of mind knowing Discover will contact you if any suspicious charges appear.

I have dealt with fraudulent activity on a card once before. I review my bank account a couple times a week and noticed a $50 charge from PayPal. I went into my PayPal account and saw no such charge. I immediately called the company and the charge was removed and investigated. The only trouble on my part was getting a new card number (not much trouble at all).

Once while vacationing in New York we found that we could not use our credit card. The bank declined transactions there because it was considered suspicious activity. While I didn’t love that my card did not work at first, I was happy to know that my bank was looking out for me and my money. I simply had to answer a few security questions and tell them how long we would be in New York and my card was ready to go.

I’ve also had large purchases questioned before the purchase can go through. I charged my daughter’s summer camp fees to my card, which were about $1,000, and within minutes I received a call because the charge was not my normal activity.

The important thing to remember is that despite some small inconveniences – like your card not working, having to get a new card, or receiving a phone call about a purchase – it’s a small price to pay for the protection and security that banking institutions and credit card holders are providing to you. Plus, for this reason I rarely carry cash and often pay with a card instead.

I am a paid brand Blogger for Discover Products Inc. My views are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Discover Products Inc. and its affiliates.