Using Credit Card Digitally? Stay Safe from Frauds!

The cyber criminals try to steal your credit card details or create payment forms that are insecure for executing fraud transactions. You need to be very careful and not fall prey to such schemes.

Keeping yourself safe from cyber-crimes is easy; however, you need to be very vigilant against online scams. Some of the precautionary steps will assist you in avoiding cyber attacks or assaults from there criminals.

Here we have listed some tips for making sure that your online transactions remain safe. 

1. Use a Credit Card Always

A credit card comes with more features regarding security as opposed to debit cards. You must always prefer to use a credit card in UAE while doing online transactions. It helps in keeping your transactions secure and safe.

Some cards even have no liability policies for frauds, which makes sure that you are protected better. On the other end, debit cards are comprehensive; therefore, you can risk the whole amount of funds on your cards.

In case you come across anything suspicious on the website while making your transactions, you can create a one-time credit card number to be used. Some random card number gets linked to the original card account. This is how it will become hard for the fraudsters to gain the details of your credit card in UAE. 

2. Avoid Public Wi-Fi or Shopping in Public Places

In case you are making use of your personal laptop or computer or phone but are connected to a public Wi-Fi, your transactions are still not secure enough. The hackers can pick your personal details from public internet connections.

Make sure that you always do your online transactions with only a private internet connection or Wi-Fi or the connection of your relatives or friends whom you can put your trust in. Try not to make any online car transactions in a public area.

In case you are operating an online transaction in some public place, and leave the website open accidentally, your login credentials remain on that webpage. Whoever uses that public computer system next can easily get access to your login details and you become vulnerable to fraud transactions.

Even while you are logging out, the hackers can record the user names, passwords, number of your credit card in UAE, and other personal details. Therefore, it is always recommended that you do not use your banking details in the public areas and avoid using public internet connections.

3. Make Sure the Web Page is a Secure One

When you visit a website, make sure that the address of the page begins with “https://” and not “http://”. The letter “makes sure that the website is safe. “S” will indicate that the website is making use of an encryption system.

However, you must remember that “https://” does not always guarantee that the transactions are 100% secured.

It is advised that you always check the web address before making any transaction. It is a quick and simply an additional check, which offers a protective layer that provides more confidence while doing the transactions. 

4. Security through Anti-Virus

An anti-virus program keeps your computer safe from fraudulent activities. In case you are doing an online transaction without any anti-virus software, you leave yourself vulnerable to cyber assaults. This will easily allow security breaches.

It is recommended that you install trusted anti-virus software on your system and keep it updated whenever required. Also, keep your web browsers and operating systems up to date to keep them in line with the most recent updates in the security.

Another important factor is that when you have an anti-virus, updated web browsers, and operating systems, the majority of the updates take place automatically. This, in turn, will cause a fall in the risk of fraudulent transactions. 

5. Get your Receipts

In case you are shopping online and making the payment with your credit card in UAE, always collect the receipts or any kind of confirmation message. You should keep these confirmation messages or receipts for cross-checking with your billing statement for your credit card.

Always ensure that the total amount on the receipts matches your credit card statement. In case you come across any discrepancies, you must take appropriate action. Therefore, it is recommended that you always maintain receipts for your online purchases. 

6. Make Transactions through Trusted Websites

Only use legitimate and trusted websites that have a seal from Better Business Bureau, VeriSign, McAfee, or Truste. Such websites are trusted and will make you feel better while making any purchases online. However, there is no guarantee that they will provide a flawless system of security as hackers or fraudsters can even make hoax seals to perform a fraud transaction. 

7. Be Careful of Fraudulent Websites

Never open the links to the websites that you receive on the phones or on the email. Do not shop online from website links even though it comes from a popular seller.

You must always open the web browser and navigate around on a site for making purchases. In case you are not aware of the web address, you can search it on Google and go on navigating. This will assist you in avoiding opening fraud websites links and keeping you safe from any kind of fraudulent transactions. 

8. Keep a Safe Password

You must always use a password, which is unique and hard to guess. You can use numbers mixed with letters, upper case and lower case letters, and special characters to set a password. It is advised that you never use your name, date of birth, your lucky numbers, or any simple number combinations such as 12345 as your passwords.

Always generate a unique password. Never use the same password for your different accounts so that if in case someone cracks your password they will not get access to all the things that you have secured with that same password. 

In a Nutshell!

Shopping online and making payments using a credit card in UAE is amongst the most comfortable method of spending money. It is necessary for your safety that you follow some of the safety measures for protecting yourself from frauds on your credit card. You must be vigilant and keep yourself safe from hackers, fraudsters, and fraud transactions.