7 Ways To Protect Your Money In The Bank From Fraudsters

This post will show you how to protect your money from criminals. Do you think it is impossible to lose your money to fraudulent people? How would you feel if you build up your personal assets and in a second all that you have labored for disappears into thin air? This could happen to anyone who is not proactive to protect their financial transactions and document from criminals. Reports show that over $16 billion was stolen from 12 million Americans in 2014. Also, over $13.1 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2013. In this post, I am arming you with the information to protect yourself, account and money from fraud. Here is how to protect your money in the bank from fraudsters out to steal your identity and money.

How To Protect Your Money In The Bank From Fraudsters

Monitor your financial statements

The first thing you should do is make sure you check your statement regularly. Also, ask for your credit report every 3 to 4 months. You should also check your accounts regularly especially when you do a lot of shopping.

You should quickly contact your bank’s customer service official, if you spot anything that is not correct and if you were not the one that approved the transaction. Sign up for an alert for your credit card and bank accounts.

This will help you know instantly if there is a fraud on your account or when you receive a fraud alert from your bank. Also, update your personal records on your bank account. This will enable the bank to contact you when it needs to and reach you.

Go paperless and shred paper documents

Going paperless and shredding paper documents is another way on how to protect your money. Don’t throw your bills and statement of the account into the trash bin carelessly. Get a shredder if you don’t have one. Also, it cost less than $50. You can go paperless to reduce papers flying around your office or room. This will prevent any of your vital documents from reaching criminals.

Get a card with embedded chip technology

The EMV chip on your credit card or debit card helps to keep your card safer. The chip produces an authentication of your transactions by single user code. make sure you use the chip embedded card more. Instead of swiping your card.

Create strong passwords

Don’t use passwords that contain your spouse or children’s name or birthdays. Creating strong passwords is one of the best ways on how to protect your money. Instead, create strong passwords to make your banking passwords secure.

It could be hard to remember if it was generated randomly but, it keeps your money safe. You can create a password made of a phrase not a single word. Also, you may use the word Merry Christmas 8, instead of using a single word. Note that the length, spaces, and numbers make your passwords stronger and safer.

Beware of Phising Scams

Watch out for this kind of scams. They may include email messages from fake bankers asking you to update your account information, criminals posing as IRS officials and asking for your personal information. Don’t forget the phone call Phising scam that took place during tax time. Therefore, don’t fall for it. These scams are many and these criminals do it professionally. So never give your email or personal information by phone. But the exception is if you are the one that called that number.

Put a password on your phone

Putting a password on your phone is another method on how to protect your money. Most of us store much personal information on our phones. Remember you have finance and bank apps that you use. So if your phone is stolen then it will be a gold mine for the criminals. So add a password to your phone to make it inaccessible even when it is stolen. If it is an iPhone add your TouchID and put your fingerprint as a passcode.

Select a bank that will help you fight fraud

You need a bank that will stand by you in case your credit or debit card is stolen. One bank you can depend on is Chase bank. It has fraud detection tools that include:

Zero-Liability Protection – the bank will not hold you responsible for fraudulent debits to your card or account information.
24/7 Fraud Monitoring – Chase has unique tools to monitor fraud. Also, Chase may text, email or call you if they suspect anything unusual on your account.
Embedded Chip Technology – they have a card embedded with a chip to add an extra layer of security to their cards. During use, the chip card reader produces a single-use code to confirm the transaction. And this stops their cards from unauthorized use.
Chase Won’t Let Fraud Slow You Down – If Chase discovers fraud in your credit card, or stolen, it will issue you a new card instantly. Also, if you’re traveling, the bank will work with you to validate the credit card purchases that you need.

Conclusion

You must take action to protect your money from fraud. Make sure you use credit and debit cards with embedded chip technology. Also, put a strong password on your phone, and choose a bank that will help you to fight fraud. In addition, you shouldn’t fall for any kind of phishing fraud and you should shred all bills and sensitive documents. And above all monitor, your bank accounts regularly and ask for your credit card account statement every 3-4 months. And when you find any unauthorized transactions report it immediately to your card issuer and bank.