5 ways to keep your cards safe

In today's electronic world cash is almost a thing of the past. Increasingly we are paying for all our goods and services with credit card or eftpos, in fact, there was 127 million electronic transactions in January 2016 alone! But in this increasingly electronic world with instances of phising, hacking and skimming becoming all the more common, how do we keep our cards safe? Here are our five top tips for protecting your cards:

At ATM's

Check for signs of damage or tampering, especially around the card slot. If in doubt, don't use the machine.
Ensure that when you put in your pin number it is not visible to those behind you or to any cameras that may be lurking.

At retailers

Where possible always keep your card in your hand (rather than hand it over)
Protect others from seeing your pin number when you enter it

Online

Only enter your credit card details on secure sites (these will begin with an https and may have a padlock symbol in the url bar as well)
Review your bill regularly for any unusual or suspicious transactions and report them immediately to your credit card provider.If your credit card has added security layers (eg SecureCode or Verified by Visa) ensure these features are activated for your card.
Don't let sites store your credit card details and turn off browser settings that store these details.

Out and about

Keep your card in a safe place
Never let anyone else use your credit card

General

Never write your pin number anywhere near your credit card,don't use any of the numbers on your card as your pin number, don't use your birthday, phone number or consecutive numbers as a pin.
Sign the back of your card as soon as you receive it
If you lose it, let you credit card company know straight away
Keep your cards away from magnetised objects such as access cards or other credit cards

The information contained in this article is of a general nature and should not be taken as advice. It reflects the opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of New Zealand Home Loans.