‘While most of us enjoy the wonderful things money can buy, we realize that it is the unbridled desire for the fun, fine, and fancy things of life that gets many of us in financial trouble.‘ – Robert Kiyosaki
Ultimately keeping your bank cards safe is you responsibility. Indeed, in a worst case scenario, if it can be proven you may have been negligent in keeping your bank card safe, you may find yourself liable for the cost of all transactions made fraudulent on your account should you lose the card. To help you avoid this, here are 5 basic bank card safety tips:
1. Never have more cards than you need
While it is always advisable that you have more than 1 bank card, in case it gets lost, you should never have more cards than you actually need to use. The principal reason why this is the case is because it becomes harder to keep a track of which cards you have and where you have kept them.
2. Always keep a photocopy of your cards
How many times have you been asked what you card number is only to find yourself looking for your card to get the number? Now, what happens if you have a card stolen and no card statement to-hand? You have a problem! For this reason, it is always best practice to take photocopies of you cards so that you know where to find the number should anything unfortunate happen to your card.
3. Always keep your receipts separate
Among the most important of the basic bank card safety tips you’ll receive is never to keep your bank cards and bank card purchase receipts in the same place – because likely as not if you have lost your card, or if it is stolen, then you’ll have lost or stolen the receipts as well. Now there is no way for you to vouch which transactions were yours and which were not – or, there is no way to tell which was the last genuine transaction you made.
Moreover, never keep a record of your PIN with your card, this is only asking for trouble!
4. Never give your account number to someone you don’t know
If you are ever asked to give your bank card details to someone you don’t know, or who has initiated a discussion with you (rather than the other way round) over the phone or via email, you should always refuse. Worse comes to the worst, phone the card issuer and ask them if it is okay for you to divulge the information or phone the enquirer back. If the enquirer seems reluctant to accept this, you have to ask yourself why!