Debit and Credit card Precautions for Travelers
Protecting personal information is very important when it comes to averting fraud. This applies to credit and debit cards too. When traveling, you should be careful on how you use your cards.
Here are essential debit and credit card precautions for travelers to guide you:
Protect your debit and credit cards
Carry debit or credit cards that you intend to use while traveling. You can also carry a backup card and keep them all safely. Once you return home from the trip, verify the charges and balances in your cards. If possible, monitor your balances after making transactions while traveling. Nevertheless, exercise caution because accessing your financial account over the internet can be risky.
Protect your PIN code
Memorize the personal identification number of your credit and debit cards instead of writing it somewhere. Additionally, make sure that nobody watches you as you type the PIN while withdrawing money or paying purchases with the cards. That way, you will ensure that your PIN remains safe and even if somebody steals your card, they won’t access your money.
Use credit cards sparingly
Some shop clerks and restaurant servers attempt to steal credit card information of their customers. In some cases, they do this by swiping the cards in special machines or surreptitiously using mobile phones to snap photos of the cards. Most restaurants provide portable credit card readers. These are brought to the table by waitresses. These are secure because you will monitor how the transaction is done right there. Nevertheless, giving out cash is the safest way of paying for purchases while traveling.
Use debit card at ATMs only
A debit card draws money from your financial account directly. That means if a thief uses it to withdraw money, the charges can be scary and it’s your fund that will be gone. As such, use your debit card to withdraw money from cash machines only. Use credit cards or cash to make purchases.
Basically, these are the major debit and credit card precautions for travelers. If your card is stolen or lost, report to your bank or the card provider immediately.