Buying clothes, shoes, or your favorite perfume from an e-commerce store is exciting. However, the fear of your credit card details being stolen looms large, especially when purchasing from a new website. If you are worried, and you should be, your fear is not unfounded. Reports show that about 60% of credit card holders experience some kind of attempted fraud in 2023 alone. This calls for urgent action—to keep your credit card information safe by all means. There is no better way to do that than to follow these three tips on how to protect your credit card from hackers.
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Alt text: A man trying to pay online with his credit card.
How Credit Card Information Can Be Kept Safe
From using a virtual credit card to choosing a strong password and avoiding public WiFi, we explain ways you can keep your online transaction secure.
1. Use a Virtual Credit Card: When you shop on a site with your physical credit card, you provide sensitive information—your card number, expiration dates and CVV—that can be intercepted by hackers. However, with a virtual card, your real financial details are not revealed because the merchant only has access to the card’s unique card number. Also, the virtual card will automatically “lock” to the first merchant and can’t be used elsewhere if the card number is stolen. Users who sign up for a virtual card can easily pause, resume and close the card when they like or even set it to close after a single transaction.
2. Choose a Secure Password: Another way to safeguard your credit card details when using the internet is to use a secure password. The rule of thumb here is that you should use a password that is difficult for hackers to guess. It should be long, at least more than 15 characters. Also, it should be complex and unique and must include uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers. You shouldn’t use personal information such as your spouse or child’s name, your nickname or your date of birth.
3. Be Wary of Public WiFi: One thing about public or free WiFi is that it doesn’t need authentication to establish a network connection. This makes it easy for cybercriminals to gain unfettered access to unsecured devices using the same network. Hackers can use these public WiFi networks to steal sensitive data like your credit card information, password or personal data. Using a protected network is the best thing to do, as any information you share is encrypted. However, if you must connect to the internet on the go, you should use a virtual private network (VPN), as it offers an extra layer of protection.
To Sum Up
When buying online, you must implement the necessary security measures as cybercriminals are always on the lookout to steal your credit card details. You should be wary of free public WiFi, use a strong password and remember that a virtual credit card makes it hard for cybercriminals to steal your sensitive data.
