Fraud Protection Recommendations for Holiday Shoppers
Waukegan, IL, November 9, 2016: The winter holidays are right around the corner … and that means we're coming up on the two biggest shopping days of the year: Black Friday on November 25 and Cyber Monday on November 28. Sadly, it's not just retailers who are excited about the upcoming shopping season. Unfortunately, the "bad guys" are waiting, too, hoping consumers will let down their guard and make it easy for them to get your personal information.
Consumers Credit Union (CCU; $930 Million, Waukegan, IL) has the following suggestions to help consumers protect their personal information and make this holiday season a little more joyous:
• Change your Debit Card PIN on a regular basis.
• Do NOT give your credit card information to a 3rd party - not even to family members or close friends.
• Purchase Online ONLY from trusted sites that include the https in their website address (rather than just http) and include the "lock" symbol on their site, as well.
• Utilize the EMV chip payment method whenever possible. Since not all merchants process with EMV chips, choose a merchant who does whenever possible.
• Keep your card in view after handing it to a merchant for payment whenever you can.
• Review your statement as soon as it arrives to identify and prevent further fraudulent charges; if you have access to view your account Online, do so more frequently, if possible.
• Register for fraud monitoring tools such as Automated Fraud Alerts (text alerts), and make sure your phone number is up to date with all card providers so fraud monitoring departments can reach you if necessary.
"There is a tendency for fraud to increase during the busy holiday season," according to Jennifer Wenckowski, VISA Manager at CCU. "While it may be impossible to stop all fraud, we can certainly put a dent in it by taking the steps listed above. That's why I always recommend utilizing the EMV chip and checking statements on a regular basis. And never, ever give your personal information to anyone else."
For more information about how to protect your credit card from fraud, please contact CCU's VISA Department at 877 ASK CCCU (877-275-2228), ext. 7211. Consumers Credit Union is Member-owned, with offices in Waukegan, Mundelein, Round Lake Beach, Gurnee, North Waukegan, Volo, Northbrook, Palatine and Schaumburg … and Online at www.myconsumers.org.