You can never completely rule out misuse of your data. Our tips will help you to keep the risk as low as possible.
Use data sparingly
The more companies you entrust your credit card details to, the greater the risk of card fraud. This does not mean that the companies act with fraudulent intent, but that the risk of being affected by a hacker attack, for example, increases if you have stored your confidential data with many companies.
In addition, the technical security measures in the online shops are different. So think carefully about which online shops you want to entrust your data to. This also applies to smartphone apps that can access your card data.
Never keep the card together with the PIN
Under no circumstances should you keep your PIN together with the associated card. In the event of misuse, you will then be assumed to have acted with gross negligence and you are fully liable for any damage incurred.
Check credit card statement carefully
Double-check your credit card statements. For example, it can happen that fraudsters make a so-called test debit. Often only 1 or 2 cents will be debited from your account. If this goes unnoticed by your bank, the fraudsters will try to clear as much money as possible from your account in the same way. Or the criminals try to withdraw as much money as possible from your card or they use it for online shopping. If there are any irregularities, contact your bank immediately and have the card blocked if necessary. You should continue to check the invoices even after they have been blocked.
Be especially careful when CVV shopping online
Instead, online fraudsters turn to “CVV shop,” shadowy cybercrime stores that sell packages of cardholder data, including customer name, full card number, expiration, CVV2 and postcode. These CVV bundles are far cheaper than dumps — typically between $US2–$US5 apiece — in part because they are useful mainly just for online transactions, but probably also because overall they are more complicated to “cash out”, or make money from them.
Many credit card fraudsters are now focusing on the Internet. Always carefully check the address in your web browser when you are asked to enter your details. Signs that you have been redirected to a fraudulent page unnoticed are a missing “https: //” in the address line or that the provider of the original website is no longer in the address line. If you have the slightest doubt about the authenticity of the website, it is better to refrain from buying it.
