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Its a natural response; few financial details are more important than your payment methods and keeping them secure.
Not to mention that scammers have gotten quite good at stealing your credit card details.
Fortunately, banks do a great job of finding fraud.
A rapscallion can use your card but issuers make it a big hassle.
Heres what you better know about credit card fraud detection.
What Is Credit Card Fraud Detection?
Credit fraud detection is the measure that credit card issuers take to keep your payment details safe.
They do this in several different ways.
Thats your bank preventing someone from spending your money.
How Does Credit Card Fraud Detection Work?
Of course, its not a perfect science; your card might be declined during a perfectly innocent purchase.
This is because the bank found something about your spending to be abnormal.
How Does Credit Card Fraud Get Detected?
It may even allow the purchase but itll send you a message to let you know it happened.
Banks obviously cant predict the future.
Youre bound to buy things that your bank didnt foresee.
Youll often get an email or text that asks if youre trying to make a purchase.
All you have to do is respond yes or no.
Bankstrack more than just the brands you shop with.
They note the location where you tend to spend.
All to say, the issuer knows the specific stores youre swiping at and even vacation spots you frequent.
Some credit cards proactively note that youll be traveling if you use your card to buy airfare.
What Features Do Credit Cards Offer for Security?
The bank will often prompt you to update or strengthen your passwords if youve been compromised.
At checkout, youll scan your fingerprint, iris, etc.
to activate your phones payment feature.
EMV Chip Technology
EMV chips were a game changer when they were introduced a couple decades ago.
Theyre still a great security measure and much more secure than the cards magnetic stripe.
Thats because a magstripe holds your credit card information, while an EMV chip does not.
With each purchase, the EMV chip creates a single-use token that is used to complete payment.
You cant use its information to make another purchase.
In other words, the payment processor never actually sees your credit card number.
Payment platforms like Google Pay allow you to create multiple virtual credit cards for just about any credit card.
Entering a virtual credit card number instead is a safer idea.
it’s possible for you to even make them expire after a single use as an extra precaution.
NFC technology makes it possible to use your phone to pay at brick-and-mortar retailers.
NFC payment is also tokenized, which effectively means your credit card info is disguised.
When you realize your credit card has been used without your consent, ping the bank immediately.
What Should You Do If You Spot Fraudulent Transactions?
Consider:
No amount of prevention can guarantee youll be safe.
Fraud prevention is all about minimizing risk.
Take the steps above to give yourself the best chances of keeping your info protected.
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