Happy Wednesday everyone and good luck in the new semester to my fellow peers and classmates. I'm currently waking up from a long nap from today's 1st day of class shenanigans. From waking up for an 8 am to finding out some of my classes could've been dropped, I don't know which part of today has been the most difficult.
Now that I've gotten that off my mind, I want to start a discussion about identity theft. So far, I've discussed issues dealing with wireless communications and location services. What inspired me to write about stolen identities? Previously, I traveled to Mississippi with a friend, which was my very first time by the way. The scenery was very beautiful and the night life was exciting leaving us with numerous activities to do while we were there. Until my friend went to use his credit card at the ATM and it declined because of multiple transactions made in multiple states.
He was confused because he knew that there was sufficient funds available on the card and there shouldn't have been a reason for a decline. He also spoke about that not being the first time happening to him. The company would either call or send a text message when they notice unusual large amounts of money had been taken out of your account. Well, he didn't receive either one. This resulted in him having to use his debit card to make purchases, what if he didn't have an alternative solution?
After doing some research, the reason that companies watch the amount of money you spend, where you spend it, and what you spend it on is to prevent fraud. By now, everything that I have spoken about has given multiple reasons to believe our privacy is invaded. Banks are constantly on the lookout for purchases that might seem strange for a particular credit card holder. They'll send a text message or call if they notice anything unusual as I stated and in my friend's case, they'll even decline a purchase if it seems iffy.
Here are three major ways you may accidently create a false fraud alarm:
- Location: Traveling to even another small town nearby can trigger your purchase being flagged even if, in our case, a small ATM transaction. It's best to notify your bank ahead of time about where you are traveling to and how long so they can have a heads up.
- Big Spending: If you are a person who lives in Michigan and you don't travel much, it would be best to not travel to Disney land and spend thousands of dollars for a family trip. If you do decide to spend a lot of coins on an upcoming event, important day, or emergency then call your card company.
- Online shopping sprees: A total different ball game. This will give banks a reason to look at your account and purchases closer, while also increasing the chances of fraud. There are a lot of disadvantages with online shopping. In addition to above, the online payments are not much secured. The rate of cyber crimes has been increasing and customers’ credit card details and bank details have been misused which raise privacy issues.
Customers have to be careful in revealing their personal information because some of the e-tailers are unreliable. Are the companies protecting themselves or are they protecting you? Whatever your opinion, in order to avoid fraud, call your issuer. This will not guarantee you won't ever go through identity theft but it will ensure your protection and decrease the chances.
If you would like to discuss further, please leave a comment or ask a question. I'd love to chat with my readers and hear your thoughts. Thank you for dropping in and remember ToBeSecured!
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