5 Safety Precautions to Apply While Using Your Credit Card Online And Offline

When it comes to safety it is very essential. We'll share some safety tips when using your credit card online, offline (POS), in-app purchases and so on. 

You will also learn the signs of discovering unsecured apps and websites and the best practice to take to avoid scam or shocking debit alert.

Don't forget we also shared how to bypass online credit using this method.

We are now in a global village; gone are the days when you had to travel in buy foreign goods or services, or wait till morning to buy recharge cards from vendors. With the internet now, one can easily purchase anything online without moving an inch from your comfort zone.

As you all know their is a good side and bad side to everything good. While the internet is one of man's greatest inventions, it has also caused many problems. If you are not cautious, you could lose your money simply by using your credit/debit card online. 

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I decided to share these safety tips in response to the numerous questions I received from members of our blog about online money theft and how to keep yourself safe while transacting online.

To Get Started What Exactly Is a Credit/Debit Card?

A credit/debit card is a plastic card issued by financial institutions, particularly banks, to their customers for ATM cash withdrawal and online transactions. They are mostly linked to the user bank account, and we have the MasterCard, VISA, VERVE, AMERICAN EXPRESS e.t.c

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To perform any transaction online, you will need the 15 digits on your credit card, the CVV (the three digits on the back), and the expiration date, you can see that at the front of the card.

Those private details should never be exposed to any persons because your money can be withdrawn without your consent.

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Though some banks have attempted to tighten their security by setting up OTP verification to the user numbers whenever they want to use or perform anything with there card online for successful transaction, however some foreign site don't require any OTP before you can use use the card.

This poses a significant risk to online shoppers because credit card information is stored on the website's data base. If the site data got hacked, all the user's credit card info will be exposed out and and possibly misused by the hacker, resulting in financial loss for the unfortunate victims.

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Similarly, the use of POS agents, to withdraw money from your account using your ATM card has become usual in our current society, owing to the convenience that it brings when it comes to withdrawing money. 

With the help of the POS, you don't have to give your self stress, hand ache or long queue of waiting at the ATM machine.

On the other hand, some user pose as POS agents in order to steal people's hard-earned money from their accounts by using their ATM details obtained when they used their credit card with their POS service. 

This fraudulent act is carried out by using the details in their ATM card to purchase item on some e- commerce website where they afterword sell it and convert to cash back, since it doesn't require any OTP to complete the transaction. And it is very easy for them to do this since they have all your details.

Precautions to Take When Transacting With Your Credit Card Online

1. Set Aside A Separate Bank Account For Online And Offline Credit Card Transactions

Anything can happen no matter how secure an online shopping website is. The first thing you should do when shopping online with your credit card to keep yourself safe is to set aside a special bank account which you will be using for any online card transactions.

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The amount inside the credit card will always have zero account balance because you will only be sending money to it whenever you need to pay or do any transactions online or at any occasion if you want to withdraw some cash through a POS. 

The account balance will always return to zero even so even if the ATM card falls into the wrong hand, their will be nothing for them to steal or pull out. Smart move right! 

2. Don't Enter Your Credit Card Information On Any Unsecured Website

Always check if the website is SSL secure i.e has https and the locked key sign before using your credit card on any shopping site as shown in the screenshot below.

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A website with a valid SSL certificate is unlikely to be hacked, at least not by a non-professional. If you notice an online e-commerce site is not secured with https, you should flee for your money, this also applies to financial apps; you should check the developer's website If it is SSL secured. And also read reviews on the app store to see if there are any complaints about credit card debits. 

3. Avoid Exposing Credit Card Information In Public Places

You should always be careful when using your credit card in public locations. Most of the time, we expose the details publicly when using them in POS, on public transportation, airlines, and so on. If you must use your credit card in public, you should always conceal the details.

4. Never Save Credit Card Numbers Or Pins On Your Phone

Saving your card details on Contacts can reduce your stress when transacting online because you don't have to pull out your credit card to enter the details, but In doing so, you are taking a risk. 

Your phone can get lost, stolen, or hacked by malicious software, and in such an hapless event your card details may be compromised. Always avoid the habit of saving your card details on your device to keep you safe.

5. Always Notify Your Bank If Your Credit Card Is Lost or Stolen

Never hesitate to report a lost or stolen credit card to your bank. In this way, they will be able to block your card immediately, thereby not usable by anyone who may have it.

That's all on how to stay safe when transacting online with your credit card. Hope you picked up one or two useful tips. If you have any questions or suggestions leave them in the comment box below.