Two years ago I was on our first official beach vacation with my family – I logged into my mobile banking app to check for a deposit from work, and noticed a weird charge for over $80.. I immediately called my bank to find out that this was a breach in security with the card company. They said most likely somewhere someone had stole my information, and was spending my money! The bank immediately froze my account, and cancelled my debit card! Thankfully I had a credit card with me, (as well as my parents) but what if I had relied just on the one card for our travels? This was only on day 2 of 10. I can’t imagine the trouble I would of went through being over 1,000 miles from our credit union.
It seems like these days you can’t be too careful – with the recent breaches within Target, Anthem, and other large companies, it’s understandable to be weary of using your bank or credit card information.The scary thing is not only do they get access to our credit card and make fraudulent charges, but they also can gain access to personal information such as your address, birthdays and socials – which can open up a whole other can of worms.
Even if you do everything right – there is still the possibility that your information could be compromised. But, if you take these steps, you can keep the chance of a security breach very slim!
- Changing your user account passwords, along with your security questions every 60 days or so as a safeguard.
- Require validation on online orders – like your address and phone number, before they will authorize a payment or shipping.
- Monitor all your transactions for fraudulent activity – even credit cards you don’t use often. On card that you use regularly, be sure to check each individual transaction.
- Installing firewalls to monitor connections, as wella s anti-virus software and be sure to keep it regularly updated.
- Store confidential information such as socials, credit card information, etc, in a encrypted database, preferably one without internet.
- Never send or request confidential information thru e-mail or other online chat features. If you receive a request, always call to submit the information instead of sending via e-mail.
- Sign up for LifeLock Services. LifeLock gives people confidence to live freely in this day of being connected online 24/7. They are the leading provider of proactive identity theft services. LifeLock provides alerts that scan the financial networks to help identify potential threats before any damage can be done. LifeLock gives you the opportunity to confirm your identity before a new credit card, cell phone, or any type of loan is opened with your information. LifeLock is so confident that you’ll love their services that they offer a $1 Million Total Service Guarantee
Talk about the worst timing – that stinks that it happened when you were on vacation, but thank god you caught it right away!
These are great tips. I could not ever imagine this happening, especially when you are on vacation! Sooo scary!
It is super crazy what can happen to your private information! I attended an event last year with Lifelock and heard their SEO speak about all the dangers, love their products!
After I tried to use my bank card and it didn’t work, I looked at my app and noticed some weird charges on my debit card. Luckily, the credit union had already caught it and that’s why it didn’t work. LifeLock is a great option for keeping your information safe!
It is amazing how easily a breech can happen these days and a bit unnerving indeed. I did not know I request validation. Is that a service only offered by LifeLock? I think they are a fabulous solution!
I’m so glad they were able to cancel that card for you. I would have been up a creek, I only have the one card!
These are great tips. I need to sign up for LifeLock you can never be too careful.
Data breaches scare me almost as much as identity theft. These thieves are getting so out of control!
Great info! Lifelock is great! Ugh I couldn’t imagine that happening let alone on vacation! Crazy!
This is awesome advice and I keep reminding my kids to change their passwords. The whole Sony thing served as a reminder.
Sucks that it happened while you were on vacation, but at least you had a backup! Identity Theft is definitely a nightmare!
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly
I am always scared of identity theft. That is horrible to have happen on vacation.
That is such a sad that thing that scammers are getting so sophisticated. It really helps to protect yourself
Having a safety feature like Safe Lock is a must have for your your credit nowadays. Thanks for the additional tips for keeping my personal info safe.
Data breaches and identity theft are so common now. Lifelock sounds like a great service.
I had this happen to me a couple months ago. Fortunately, it was just an $11 charge and I found out within hours of it happening. I stay on top of my accounts, logging in daily and that day, it paid off. I got the card canceled before the criminal could do anything more!
My mom had her stuff stolen and just got LifeLock. So far she is really pleased with the services they offer.
I love LifeLock, they by far have the best security. I wish I had found them earlier.
We have Lifelock and it has saved my husband on more than one occasion. I had my identity stolen when I was very young and remember hanging out at the social security office to try and clear it up.
I have anxiety when I think about this issue. I had to cancel my card twice last year because of unauthorized transactions. I can only imagine how bad it’d be to have your identity stolen.
Data breach is SCARY. I found my credit card information on a forum years ago and freaked out. Luckily I was able to contact my bank before anyone used it.