Don’t get caught like a phish – 10 easy steps to avoid credit card fraud

Anti-fraud measures have reduced FNB Credit Card fraud by 39%, but the best way to protect yourself is to be vigilant and aware.

“FNB Credit Card and Visa are constantly combining efforts to make sure that online shopping is safe and fraud free,” says Fred van der Westhuizen, Director for Risk Services at Visa.

FNB and VISA have invested heavily in advanced fraud-fighting technologies, such as real-time fraud monitoring tools, Visa Checkout, Verified by Visa, EMV or Chip & PIN.

While FNB and Visa are confident that the various anti-fraud mechanisms are foiling scammers, fraudsters are still accessing card details from customers themselves.

“There are a number of ways scammers will attempt to uncover your personal information, with phishing being the most common technique,” explains van der Westhuizen.

Phishing is when fraudsters pretend to be from well-known companies, organisations, or government agencies and then contact consumers directly, trying to trick them into revealing their personal information.

“The key to combating online fraud is knowing what threats exist and taking easy steps to beat them,” says van der Westhuizen.

He suggests the following 10 tips to prevent credit card fraud:

1. Be on your toes. Only open emails, attachments, and links from people you know.
2. Don’t click on links within foreign messages either – even if the message seems to be from an organisation that you trust, it probably isn’t. Genuine businesses will never ask you to send sensitive information through insecure channels like the Internet.
3. Avoid sharing. Don’t reveal personal or financial information in an email, text or over the phone.
4. Pay attention to a website’s URL. Hover over any links to see where they lead.
5. If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly.
6. Install a reliable anti-virus and anti-malware program onto your electronic devices, and make sure it’s always updated.
7. Only provide personal or financial information through an organisation’s website if you typed in the web address yourself and you see signals that the site is secure, like a URL that begins https (the “s” stands for secure).
8. Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorised charges or signs of skimming.
9. Look for the padlock on a payments page.
10. Report suspected phishing emails to [email protected]

“We are seeing positive trends in the reduction of credit card fraud and we are confident that we can protect our customers,” adds Chris Labuschagne, CEO of FNB Credit Card.

“As long as they haven’t been negligent with their card information, they will not be held liable for any loss.”

The following infographic reveals additional information about keeping your credit card safe.

FNB Card Security Infographic