Local law enforcement offers advice on credit card safety
With Cyber Monday deals still being offered at various online stores, it is crucial to know how to keep your credit information safe from thieves.
47ABC spoke with local law enforcement on how to avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud and what to do if it happens to you.
Credit card theft continues to be a growing problem. Lieutenant Tim Robinson with the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office said, "We get reports of that regularly sometimes almost daily here it's one of the fastest growing crimes in America."
With many stores still offering special deals, it's important to know how to keep yourself safe this holiday season.
Lieutenant Robinson said, "We do want to take this opportunity to remind everyone while they're out shopping to guard their credit cards, remember where they are, take a limited amount of credit cards with them in case something were to happen."
Local law enforcement said you should always avoid using your debit cards.
"When they are out shopping, try to have credit cards and not debit cards with them because when debit cards are used, that money is coming straight out of your checking account and that could be tougher to replace or try to deal with," Lieutenant Tim Robinson said.
Experts also say you should also be wary of ATM machines. They told 47ABC you should shake the box on the machine before swiping your card, and if it is loose, find another ATM machine to use.
There are also steps you can take online to keep your card number safe.
Mitchel Marriner, a Senior Loan Officer at Universal Mortgage said, "If your computer gives you the option to store your credit card information, you definitely do not want to do that because then anybody that has access to that computer can purposely or mistakenly make a charge to your credit card."
If your credit card information does end up getting stolen, there are steps you can take.
Lieutenant Tim Robinson said, "Once you verify that somebody else may have done this and it was not done by you, then you can contact your local law enforcement agency. Also contact your credit card company too to make them aware that your credit card, your credit card number or the card itself might have been compromised so they can put an immediate flag on your credit card."
For more information on how to keep your credit card safe, you can visit the following websites:
