by Dianne
(Colorado)
I love to shop online, but I have been worried about credit card theft, so I’ve started using a card with a very low limit so that I can reduce my exposure.
I have been doing this for the past year and a half, and I would say that it has been very successful. At least I’ve had no credit card theft since I started doing this!
I don’t find that it’s less convenient, and I always pay off my balance every month, to make sure I’m not paying more in finance charges.
So far, I really like this system.
Living on Toast But They Said I Spent Thousands!!
by Simon
(London, England)
I live in England where we often say you can “live on beans on toast” in order to save money. I am a frugal person and I don’t use my credit card excessively. I have always been very worried about credit card fraud and kept credit card spending to a minimum. Imagine my surprise when the bank rang me up and said that they had reason to believe that I was the victim of fraud.
The entire system of one of the merchants I used had been hacked. I had supposedly spent in excess of £5,000 which is about $8k! I explained that I would never do that because I’m a person who lives on beans on toast. How can I protect myself if the merchants are being hacked?
Moderator’s Comment:
The prevalence of hacking is a concern for everyone around the world and in many cases the average consumer can not do anything to prevent hackers from attacking organizations. That said, this website is aimed at looking at ways individuals can do their best to decrease the likelihood of being a victim of identity theft. It is therefore a consumer’s self-help and sharing forum.
Often this can involve taking simple steps to protect yourself. However, when you are a victim you must be sure that you report the matter to the police, your bankers, and their credit card company as well as the regulators responsible for consumer protection. The process can vary from country to country.
The low-limit credit card strategy for online transactions is a simple but effective way of capping your risk of loss in case of fraudulent transactions.
Thank you for contributing to this important forum on what is a critical issue for consumers around the world.
Regards
John Cosstick
Moderator
