‘Tis the Season to be Credit Card Safe

Christmas and Credit Cards

Only two weeks to finish your Christmas shopping! Remembering all that has happened over the past year, we encourage you to spend local wherever you can. With families and businesses struggling from the drought, bushfires destroying livelihoods and COVID-19 forcing an economic downturn, our local businesses will be grateful for your support this Christmas Season.

If you are unable to spend local and chose to purchase your gifts online, make sure you are careful not to become a victim of credit card fraud. Credit card fraud, by definition, is the fraudulent use of a credit card done so through the theft of the cardholder’s personal details. The five most common types of credit card fraud include:

1. card-not-present (CNP)
2. counterfeit and skimming
3. lost and stolen card
4. card-never arrived, and
5. false application

Phishing is also popular and can take on many forms. A common phishing hack includes receiving an email from a trusted source asking you to click on a link. The email may look like it was sent from businesses such as Australia Post and PayPal, however, once you click the link your device can be corrupted and the hackers can access your personal information.

A good way to check if your email is genuine is to hover over the sender’s email address or hover over the link, this will show the actual link and from there you can determine if it is safe to click or not. You can also call the sender to confirm the email was sent from them before opening the link.

You can take a number of measures to help protect your personal details this Christmas. This includes ensuring your anti-virus software is up-to-date, never click suspicious links, be skeptical of suspicious websites, keep a close eye on your credit card statement and raise any suspicious activity with your bank immediately and make sure your package has instructions to deliver to a safe place to avoid someone stealing it from your front door.

If you have become a victim of credit card fraud, it is important to inform your bank or financial institution immediately. They will be able to investigate the matter and, if necessary, freeze your account so no further funds can be stolen.

We would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year. Happy spending!