10 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Credit Card Theft

Credit card scammers are still active, and they use increasingly sophisticated methods to steal personal information and accounts.

If you're serious about building wealth, it's critical to prepare and protect yourself from potential credit card thieves that could drain your accounts and wreck your credit. Here are 10 ways to get ahead of the scammers and keep your accounts safe.

Get in the habit of thoroughly checking your credit report, bank, and credit card statements at least once a month.

If there are any surprising or unexpected charges, you'll be able to quickly contact your bank/card issuer and get the matter resolved. It may even be worth it to enroll in some form of credit monitoring so you can see where you stand financially, and respond quickly to any anomalies.

Make sure that each account you have has a unique password that is not easy to guess.

Combining uppercase, lowercase, special characters, numbers, and dashes will make it harder for scammers to crack. In addition, changing your passwords every year or so is another smart move.

Keep a handwritten list of all your passwords in a safe place in your house, and whatever you do, do not keep it on your computer.

It's easier than ever to have two-factor authentication on all your accounts, and it's worth the extra step.

Every time you log into an account, you must enter a code that gets texted to your cell phone or email. While it may take a little longer, it makes it harder for scammers to access and get your credit card information.

Whenever you're in a public setting accessing the internet, you're opening yourself to hackers and scammers to take your information.

Avoid logging into any accounts while using a public Wi-Fi network, as a third party could intercept that data. It's best to log into your accounts while in the privacy of your home or work, where you know the internet has some protection.

When shopping online, look for an https in the website URL. This means the site encrypts your data during transmission.

Additionally, an encrypted site should have a lock icon in the URL box. One of the most common credit card scams involves entering your information on a sketchy site that does not encrypt it.

Stick to online retailers you trust when making purchases, and if a site looks weird or unfamiliar, hit the back button!

Many recent credit card scams take the form of an "urgent" call from your card issuer.

These scammers will ask you for your account information, so be careful. If you're receiving a call from a random number, it will most likely not be your card issuer.

If there was an urgent matter with your account, you'd receive an email or something more official. Scams also take the form of text messages, so be wary of those as well.

Some banks offer virtual credit card numbers for online purchases. These cards offer a one-time connection to your account and are no longer valid after completing the transaction. That way, even if your information is compromised, would-be thieves cannot use the card, and your account will remain protected.

While routine account checkups are a good habit to develop, you should also enable transaction alerts.

You'll receive a notification or email when a purchase is made, so you can quickly respond to any potential fraudulent activity. Speed is critical when dealing with a compromised account, and getting on top of the situation will prevent further damage.

Another common move for scammers is to install a physical skimming device on a credit card reader. This is primarily an area of concern at gas stations, vending machines, and other merchants with outdoor card readers.

Before using a card reader, inspect it for signs of tampering, such as loose or bulky components, mismatched colors, or parts that seem out of place.

If anything looks suspicious, avoid using the device and report it to the establishment or relevant authorities.

Every smartphone can link a card to your digital wallet. Using this technology is safer due to the tokenization technology in the application.

The phone transmits the required amount of money for the transaction directly to the card reader. So, the merchant never collects the credit card details like a physical card.

The phone usually has a fingerprint, swipe, or password-based authentication system, which prevents anyone from using it to make payments.

Scammers will always be looking for their next target, so you have to expect that they will eventually try to get into one of your accounts.

If you're diligent about your spending/saving habits and have a way to make extra cash on the side, you won't have to rely on credit cards to cover big purchases. That way, you won't need to have so many accounts that could potentially be hacked.