Taking care of your Credit cards Part 2

By Francisco J. Colayco, Ph.D

Here is another story told to me about how you should be careful with your credit card.

A lady had lunch with a friend and paid for their meal with a credit card. She signed the credit card voucher and when she got her credit card back, she was just going to put it in her wallet. Then, she just happened to glance at the card. She noticed that it was the expired card of another person. She called the waitress who looked surprised.

The waitress took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter. The lady looked closely and saw that all the waitress did while walking to the counter was to wave the wrong expired card to the cashier, and the cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card.

No exchange of words --- nothing! The waitress took it and came back to the lady with an apology.

REMINDERS

Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours.

Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time.

Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, "assuming" that it has to be theirs.

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER YOU USE IT!

Other important reminders:

Cellular phones can take pictures of your credit card without your even knowing it.

Whenever you are using your credit card be aware and don't be careless.

Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card.

When you are in a restaurant and the waiter/waitress brings your card and receipt for you to sign, make sure you scratch the number off.

Some restaurants are using only the last four digits, but a lot of them are still putting the whole thing on there.

Credit card fraud is becoming so rampant that the major card issuers have come out with advisories on cards issued from developing countries with the Philippines among them. Recently, the major card issuers like Europe-Pay, Master Card and Visa have come out with more stringent standards on security features of credit cards to force the banks to take more serious steps in eliminating fraud. Credit cards as a payment mode is so convenient that for sure, more and more people will be using them. As the use of credit and debit cards becomes more widespread, more techniques for fraud will also be created. With the benefits come risks and costs. The responsibility for security lies with us the credit card users. The credit card companies and banks can only do so much. The rest really is up to us. . The truth is that even when we are careful, we will still be a target for fraud. Let's not make it easy for these thieves to steal from us!