Local police and financial adviser give credit card fraud safety tips
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Scott Ferguson is the CEO and principal planner for Financial Concepts, a financial advising business, in Columbus.
With several recent cases of credit card fraud happening in our area, Ferguson said there are some steps you can take if someone steals your card.
“Soon as you realize or know that it’s been stolen, first off, you want to notify your credit card companies immediately and let them know your card has been stolen. You want to cut the card off. Do that first,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson also said to look at your transactions to see if any look unfamiliar.
From there, you can dispute any fraud charges.
“Set up alerts with your credit cards, so you get a text message or notification on your phone whenever a charge goes through. Just glance at it — is that you? Or if it’s not you, then you know something is not right,” said Ferguson.
Officer John Michael Lay is the Investigative Sergeant for the West Point Police Department.
He said it is also important to contact the police.
“One of the biggest things with credit card theft is making sure it gets reported to the police that way you’ve got it documented. That way if there are obviously charges or things that you are not responsible for, you’ve got the documentation and paperwork that it’s there, if it’s not on paper, it never happened,” said Lay.
He also recommended not storing your information online or using unsecured websites.
“Majority of credit card fraud are coming from contactless instances. There’s so much of an emphasis on online shopping and using your phone to pay for stuff. It’s all digital now and you open up the wrong email and all of your information is gone and it’s out there,” said Lay.
He also said after you file a report, check your account to see where the fraud may have come from.
Ferguson also said to check your credit report at least once a quarter for any fraudulent activity.
Ferguson also recommended using virtual cards, so that you only use the credit card numbers once.
