TOP 10 TIPS [1] After applying for a credit card, call the company and check on its status. After your application is approved, call each week to confirm the estimated date of its arrival. If it is one week late, cancel and request a new credit card. [2] As soon as you receive the card, IMMEDIATELY activate your account through the company's fraud protection system. Usually, this requires only a brief phone call. Most new cards can not be used until the anti-theft protection is de-activated. [3] Sign your credit card IMMEDIATELY. This makes it easier to verify fraudulent use. [4] NEVER carry your social security card in your wallet or purse. With a credit card, picture ID, and social security card, a thief can use your identity to obtain more credit cards (especially retail stores) and charge thousands of dollars in a single day! [5] ALWAYS destroy credit card receipts--shred them when possible--if you are not keeping them for your records. This includes carbons and automated receipts such as at gasoline stations. Such information can be used to make purchases over the phone. [6] ALWAYS destroy letters that offer pre-approved credit cards. They can be filled out by someone else and forwarded to their address under your name! [7] Never use your credit card on the internet without first checking whether your transaction is protected against fraud through a security encryption program. If not, the company may not be reputable and you should void the transaction. [8] If a telephone solicitation is too good to pass up, insist on paying by check. Never feel pressured into giving your credit card number over the telephone. If the company does not accept checks, it may not be a reputable business. Avoid like the plague! [9] Always keep track of free offers that are "guaranteed" by your credit card such as dining programs, magazine subscriptions, and shopping clubs. You are often charged before the expiration of the "free" trial period. Also, check for double charges (a clerical error or unscrupulous merchant) and "mystery" charges that you did not make. [10] If your credit card(s) are stolen, call all of the major consumer credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and insist that they record a "fraud alert" at the top of your credit report. For toll free phone numbers, CLICK Here Return to Modules   Copyright Newtonian Finances Ltd. © 2000-2024 (disclaimer)