March is Fraud Prevention Month and I’ve partnered up with Capital One Canada to share some features and tips that will help protect you from fraud; and give you peace of mind that if something should happen, you’ll recognize it and can report it right away!
Fraud can happen to anyone… Even me and my friends!
In the past, I’ve been a victim of transaction fraud – where transactions I hadn’t authorized have shown up on my account. But, after catching them quickly and reporting them, thankfully the matter was easily resolved.
However, for one of my friends, a different type of fraud was much more of a nightmare when she fell victim to identity theft that resulted in a number of credit cards being opened in her name. Because her mail was being intercepted before it ever reached her, she had no idea it was even happening until she personally applied for a credit product and was declined.
In both cases, there are easy measures that can be taken to ensure that if this were to happen to you, you’d know right away!
Here are some important tips to keep you informed and protect yourself from fraud…
Monitor your credit score:
Contrary to popular (and my mom’s) belief, checking your credit score will NOT impact it – which is probably why only 21% of Canadians are doing this regularly.
Capital One was the first bank in Canada to offer its cardholders, via its Credit Keeper* platform, free weekly updates of their credit scores. Credit Keeper from Capital One Canada is a free credit score tool that allows you to watch for unexpected activity on your credit file.
Make sure to keep your contact information updated and current:
Many credit card companies have fraud detection features, like two-way fraud alerts and purchase notifications. You can opt-in to these services and you’ll have the additional help watching your back.
Most all fraudulent behavior to my credit card has been caught this way.
Report a loss right away:
If you’re like me you probably lose one of your cards every other month. And if you’re like my BFF Sacha: every second day.
Many banks have measures in place to protect your account should you lose your card. At Capital One, they can even temporarily block your card just to give you more time to look for it.
For my BFF Sacha, it usually takes about an hour to realize the card has slipped through a torn seam in her purse and it’s just trapped between the liner and leather.
Those are just a few tips to keep you safe and feel secure.
And trust me, my work is not complete because when it comes to my in-laws they are fearfully convinced that if they share their credit card number online they’ll be penny-less by the morning.
As such, during Fraud Prevention Month I’ll be sharing a number of other tips and posts through my social media accounts (@immrfabulous) to help you keep on top of your game!
You can also visit my friends at Capital One HERE to learn more from them about credit and protecting yourself from fraud.
Let’s keep our money, our money!
*Credit Keeper is a service offered by Capital One Canada and is powered by credit history and score information provided by TransUnion. Availability may vary depending on the ability to verify your identity and obtain your information from TransUnion. The credit score provided by Credit Keeper is intended for your educational use only. Lenders and other commercial users may use a different type of credit score and other information when making credit decisions. Currently, Credit Keeper isn’t available for Capital One customers who live in the province of Quebec, or who have a Capital One Mastercard exclusively for Costco members.
Mr. Fab fraud free
