Protecting Yourself From Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft

Summary: Data breaches have been in the news recently, and the headlines are scary. Today Farnoosh Torabi joins us to discuss protecting yourself from credit card fraud and identity theft.<br> <a href="http://farnoosh.tv/">Farnoosh Torabi</a> of the <a href="http://farnoosh.tv/podcast/episodes/">So Money</a> podcast is the Chase Slate Financial Ambassador. She can give us the insider’s scoop on how to protect our data and our credit scores from fraudsters and even ourselves.<br> <br> <br> All That Work<br> One of the most important things you can do for your financial health <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/tips-how-to-improve-your-credit-score/">is improve</a> your credit score. Having a good score makes life less expensive because of the higher your score, the better interest rates you get when you borrow money for things like buying a home or a car.<br> But if you are careless with your personal information, all of that work can be undone. Even if you are careful, you might still be at risk of having your data<a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/improve-online-security/"> hacked. </a><br> “Equifax, one of the three credit reporting agencies in the US, announced that it was compromised between mid-May and July, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/equifax-breach-hack-exposed-most-valuable-information-2017-9" rel="noopener noreferrer">potentially exposing Social Security numbers</a>, credit card numbers, and other personal information for up to 143 million Americans.”<br> Credit Fraud<br> You don’t have to have your card stolen from you for your account to experience fraudulent charges. When a server takes your card away from the table at a restaurant to run it, they can steal the account number, expiration date, and security code just by writing those numbers down.<br> The data on a credit or debit card is on the magnetic strip. That can be “skimmed” by attaching a card reader to legitimate payment terminals like ATM’s and gas pumps. You can be “phished,” tricked into entering your credit card details into what you think is a legitimate site or even giving it out over the phone from someone pretending to be a representative from your bank or credit card company.<br> If a scammer has access to sensitive personal information like your Social Security number, date of birth, and mother’s maiden name, they can open new credit accounts in your name.<br> Protect Your Accounts<br> If you think it’s the bank and credit card companies that should keep your accounts safe, you’re correct. And these companies have entire departments dedicated to doing so. But they can only do so much. The crooks are merely half a step smarter, so those tasked with protecting you are always playing catch up.<br> Scammers are smart, but they’re also lazy, so they are always going to look for the low hanging fruit first.That’s why some scams, like the old Nigerian prince ones, seem so ludicrous to anyone with a brain. Who would be dumb enough to fall for that?!<br> Well, plenty of people but the scammers want to weed out the people with functioning brains first, so they don’t waste time trying to scam someone who is not going to fall for it. Scammers are looking for dumb people but also careless people so you need to take the steps you can to protect your information.<br> Freeze Yo’ Self<br> One option to protect your credit is to freeze it. For about $30, you can freeze your credit report. Freezing prevents anyone from accessing the report. If lenders can’t pull the report, you cannot open a new account.<br><br> The problem with a credit freeze is that there are legitimate reasons for accessing a credit report. If you are applying for a loan like a mortgage or want to rent an apartment, the lender or landlord will pull your credit report to see if you are a good risk.<br>