Keep Your Credit Card Pin Safe
For the most part, payment technology has helped bring in new and more secure methods of taking peoples money. With more numbers needing to be quoted before you can pay for something online and the phasing out of signature based credit card transactions in shops, it is becoming very safe out there for the innocent credit card user as the process of credit card verification becomes more and more advanced.
With the prevalence of more advanced security systems, the baddies are getting more hi-tech too.
Your Credit Card Pin and You
When you have been approved for a credit card and you have received your card through the mail, you will usually need to call a number and confirm that you have received it before you will be provided with your credit card pin information.
Your pin code is a unique code which corresponds only to your credit card – like a personal security system in your pocket.
Once you have received your pin code, you need to follow a set of rules in order to minimize the risk of your credit card pin being exposed:
- As soon as you receive your pin code through the mail, memorize it and destroy the letter of notification as soon as possible. It is most effective to shred or burn this document.
- Do not keep a written record of your pin anywhere. No matter how much of a scatterbrain you may consider yourself to be, do not write it down anywhere unless you are absolutely sure that the information will be secure. Never, ever write your pin down on your card or on anything which is kept with your card.
- Never share your pin with anyone, unless you have requested that they be added to your credit card account as an additional card holder.
- Do your best to avoid anyone else see you enter your pin when using it in a shop or at an ATM machine.
Credit Card Verification and Online Shopping
If you use your credit card online, you do not need to use your pin number. Instead, you will usually have to provide the payment system with your Card Security Code (CSC). This is the last three numbers of the long number on the back of your credit card. This is present on all modern credit cards, including your international credit card.
Although your CSC does provide you with more security in that you actually need to have the card in your hand in order to make a purchase, if your card is stolen and the thief finds out where you live, they may be able to use the card to order things online in your name. All it provides in terms of credit card verification is the knowledge that whoever ordered whatever it was, they were definitely in possession of your card at the time, whether it was you or not.
Does all of this Technology Help?
For the most part, modern credit card verification technology is a massive help in the fight against credit card fraud and other forms of theft. It does allow an extra degree of security and allows you to feel a bit safer when paying for things.
But does it always allow for convenience?
Not really – if you are in holiday and using your older international credit card, your card may not be set up to work with the more modern forms of credit card verification.
You may have one of those cards you need to sign the receipt for, meaning you do not have a pin code. Although these cards pose more of a risk from the get go (all one would have to do would be to duplicate the signature on the back and the fraud would begin!), they are still being used in many countries. With this in mind, you may find that you are no longer able to use your international credit cards internationally as they will not be accepted.
Credit card security has improved over the years, but at the end of the day it is down to you. Make sure that you keep your card information secure, and shred important documents pertaining to it (the ones you do not need to keep). Above all, keep your wits about you and your credit card pin safe.