How to Keep Your Credit Cards Safe During the Holidays

It's important to keep your credit cards safe anytime of the year, however, it is especially important during the holiday season. Identity thieves are lurking around every corner, waiting to steal your information for their own use. Consumers lose millions of dollars resulting from identity theft every year. The holidays are just an optimal time for thieves and another reason that you should take additional precautions. Follow the steps below to keep your credit cards safe during the holidays.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Carry only the credit cards that you intend on using when you go out to do your Christmas shopping at malls and stores. If you have a whole wallet of credit cards with you and something were to happen, that could mean a big loss to you. Leave all other credit cards at home.

2. Watch your back when making purchases. Its a good idea to know who may be looking over your shoulder when you key in your personal identification number. While it seems unlikely to you that someone would do that, the studies show that this in one of the easiest ways for thieves to get your information.

3. Take care to protect your receipts after making a credit card purchase. When you are finished with the sale, put your receipt in your purse right away. During the holidays, don't just drop it in the bag, because you may forget that it is in there and it could get lost. Keep your receipts to balance against your statement when it arrives.

4. Look for secure websites when shopping online during the holidays. The padlock icon located on the status bar or at the bottom of the screen will let you know that the website is secure. Many credit card scammers can create their own website that look like any other merchant site. Make sure that you see the icon that indicates a secure website.

5. Sign the back of all of your credit cards to ensure identification when making purchases during the holidays. If the card is unsigned, the store cashier should ask for identification, but this does not always happen. Prevent identity theft and the unauthorized use of your credit card by signing the back before you use it.

6. Consider the benefits of enrolling in a fraud prevention program, such as credit monitoring and identification theft insurance. Your credit card company may offer an additional service to protect your credit cards safe during the holidays and throughout the year.