Fraud Protection 101: Keep Your Information Safe

As the modern financial landscape changes, keeping yourself safe from fraud and identity theft has become more important than ever before. If you’ve been a victim of fraud, you’re not alone. In the past year, 60% of credit card holders in the United States have been victimized by fraud. To help you stay safe, the fraud prevention experts at Citizens Bank in Nashville, TN, have compiled a list of tips and other resources. 

Seven Tips to Keep You Safe from Fraud & Identity Theft

Preventing fraud and identity theft starts with actions you can take to protect your financial and other personal information. By taking these steps, you can keep your information safe from those who want to use it for nefarious purposes. 

1. Protect Your Personal Information

By obtaining your personal information, fraudsters can hack into your accounts and cause a great deal of damage to both your finances and your reputation, including your credit score. While you may need to share this information in certain situations, like applying for a new credit card or loan, generally, you should otherwise avoid doing so. 

Do not share your social security number, debit card PIN, bank account information, or other personal information over the phone or internet unless you have initiated contact with a trusted source, like Citizens Bank. If someone is calling requesting this information, do not give it to them, as legitimate financial institutions will not do this. 

2. Keep an Eye on Your Statements

Each month, your credit card company or bank will send you a statement that lists transactions that have occurred during that time. While many credit cards offer fraud protection, some things may go undetected. That is why you need to review your statements each month to make sure you initiate each transaction on them. 

Also, request a free annual credit report to monitor your credit score and ensure no new accounts have been opened in your name without your knowledge. Citizens Bank can help you obtain this report. If you notice something unusual, contact the bank or credit card company so they can take further action, if necessary. 

3. Bank Online Safely

Modern life is busy. Online banking is a convenient way to manage your finances on the go. However, it poses unique challenges when it comes to protecting yourself from fraud and identity theft. To keep your online banking account secure, you will need to create a strong password with the following features:

• A minimum of eight characters 
• A mix of special characters, capital letters, and numbers
• No sequential or repetitive characters (e.g., 12345 or abcde)
• No context-specific passwords (e.g., the name of the account, etc.)
• Not your own name or other personal information
• Not a commonly used password (e.g., p@ssw0rd, etc.)
• A new password that hasn’t been previously used

Along with creating a strong password for your online banking account, you can turn on multi-factor authentication and fraud monitoring features for additional protection. Citizens Bank offers these features and others on all of our accounts. 

5. See Something, Say Something

While you know that monitoring your financial information is important to protect yourself from fraud and identity theft, what you do next is even more important. The sooner you contact your bank or credit card company after you notice unusual account activity, the sooner they can take action to mitigate the issue. 

6. Dispose of Financial Information Properly

Over time, keeping paper statements from banks or credit cards can create a lot of clutter. Once you no longer need these documents, shred or otherwise destroy them so they cannot be accessed by those who will use them to glean your personal information. Also, cut up old credit cards to avoid any potential fraudulent use. 

7. Choose Credit Cards Wisely

If you are in the market for a new credit card, consider getting one with fraud protection features. These features allow your credit card company to monitor your account for unusual activity and notify you if anything suspicious is detected. Citizens Bank’s credit cards offer these features, among others, designed to keep you and your information safe. 

Partner with Citizens Bank to Protect Yourself from Fraud & Identity Theft

While you are largely responsible for protecting yourself from fraud and identity theft, it is helpful to have a partner in financial safety in the form of a secure financial institution like Citizens Bank. We work with our members to ensure their information remains safe and secure. For a safer banking experience, contact us online, call us at (615) 327-9787, or visit one of our branches in Nashville or Memphis.

Fraud & Identity Theft Prevention in Tennessee at Citizens Bank

At Citizens Bank, we understand how devastating the effects of fraud and identity theft can be. That’s why we offer tools and resources to keep our members safe, like fraud monitoring on our credit cards and other accounts. To learn more, contact us online, call us at (615) 327-9787, or visit one of our branches in Nashville or Memphis.