Kinyarwanda version

As we move towards becoming a cashless society, mobile and card payments have become increasingly central to financial transactions. In order to protect your ability to make these transactions, it is important to ensure both of these payment methods are not vulnerable to fraud attempts from malicious actors.

In this topic we will be looking at ways to protect yourself against credit/ debit card fraud.

1. Regularly review your card activity and status

Instead of checking your card activity periodically, use online banking services to check your most recent transactions and account balance at least every other day. This will ensure that you are immediately aware of any suspicious activity on your card that could indicate someone has access to your account.

Your bank can set up online banking to allow you to see full details of the status of your account and most recent card payments. They can also set up text or email alerts for each transaction made.

2. Protect the sensitive information on your card

Sensitive information on your card should never be shared with anyone. If a malicious actor finds out anything more than your card number (such as card names, expiration date or CVV code) they can pay on online stores, add a card to an online store or transfer money out of your account. Make sure that your card is never out of your sight and do not let anyone take a picture of your card.

3. Use strong and unique passwords for your online accounts

Many online stores and services allow users to store credit card information for ease and convenience of access. Because this information is stored on these websites or mobile applications, it is important that your accounts are protected by strong and complex passwords that malicious actors find much harder to crack. Strong passwords must have at least 10 characters, include upper-case and lower-case characters and include numbers and symbols.

4. Use electronic bank statements or dispose of paper statements after one year

Bank statements contain sensitive information that malicious actors can use to cause harm to your identity or assets should it fall into their hands. This is why it is advisable to make use of online bank statements which can be protected by strong authentication methods over your online accounts, rather than paper statements that you may throw out but can still be found. If you use paper statements ensure they are shredded after you feel they are no longer necessary. It is generally accepted to shred paper statements after you have had them for one year.

5. Protect your PIN number and use different PIN numbers for different cards

You may want to imagine that everyone around you is trustworthy when you are entering your PIN number at an ATM or POS, however you must protect your PIN number every time you enter it by hiding the keypad from public view. A malicious actor can discover your PIN number if you do not protect it properly.

Also ensure that you use different PIN numbers for your different cards. In the name of convenience, many people use the same PIN number for different cards, this is a grave mistake as it makes your accounts extremely vulnerable to cybercriminals. Should your cards be stolen, a malicious actor could clear all of your accounts of its contents. Ensure you are creating different PIN numbers to make your credit/ debit cards more secure.