• Be hyper-vigilant about checking your account. This is most important. Most people don't check every day, but they should start. Waiting for too long means you're more liable for charges, and once your money's gone, it's gone. If it's a large amount of money and you waited too long to see it, you could have to wait for months for the bank to issue your money back and figure out what happened.
• Never let your card out of your sight/hand. If you have to hand your card over, make sure you keep an eye on the transaction. If you see something happen, report it to management and cancel your card.
• Look at the fine print. Banks vary when it comes to how much you might be liable for if you become a victim of fraud. Make sure you know all the details beforehand.
• Shred your statements. Same goes for receipts. There's so much information that can be gathered by someone who goes through your trash. Most banks have account and credit card numbers printed right there on your statement for the thieves to see. If you can, go for paperless statements and get everything sent to you via email.
• Have an emergency account. If a thief manages to drain your entire account, you would most not have access to additional funds. The banks will shut off your cards and there'd be no way to pay the rent or bills and your credit would suffer. It's important to set up a separate account for emergencies such as this one.
Has this kind of fraud ever happened to you? What do you do to avoid it?
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