Keep it Separate, Keep it Safe
Though there are multiple approaches to help protect yourself from fraud, it is a sad truth that the majority of individuals will fall victim to it at some point in their life.
In addition to practices that help prevent fraud, you should also take measures to reduce the potential impact if fraud occurs. One of the most common means of fraud is through gaining access to your card information. To reduce your exposure to card fraud, the simplest approach will be to keep a buffer between your purchases and your main accounts.
The easiest way to keep this separation is to have a dedicated credit card for your day-to-day purchasing.
The advantage to a credit card is that, if there is fraud, only that card’s balance would be affected and you will still have your funds available to you within your checking account while a dispute is being processed. There are multiple credit card options, so make sure to find a card that is a good fit for your needs. Provided you pay off your balance in full, you should not need to pay any interest and may even gain some bonuses if there is a point system associated with the card.
If you are unwilling or unable to get a credit card, you can also separate your funds by having a debit card connected to a smaller checking account that you keep separate from your primary funds. Only keep enough funds in that account to fulfil your purchasing needs and it will minimize how much of your money could be held up in a dispute.
Do you have any questions or concerns? Please contact us.