Protecting Yourself Against Mobile Fraud

With fraudulent debit card and mobile activity on the rise, it’s important to take extra precautions to keep your funds safe and secure.

Data breaches are on the rise, so it’s important to keep your debit card safe, especially while you’re using your phone. A recent study found that 65% of fraudulent transactions in 2018 happened using a mobile browser or app – up 26% from the same study that took place in 2015.

If you’re using your debit card while online shopping through your phone or using a mobile wallet in stores, it’s possible your debit card is at risk. Use these precautions to protect your debit card information.

Fraud Text Alerts

Sign up for debit card Fraud Text Alerts and receive a SMS/text message any time our service provider thinks there is a suspicious transaction. Rather than receiving a phone call, you’ll get a quick text asking you about a transaction and you can respond ‘yes’ if it was you and ‘no’ if you don’t recognize it.

Check Your Account History

It’s important to check your account transactions frequently to make sure there isn’t any suspicious activity. If you miss the window your financial institution requires to report information, you could end up losing a lot.

Many financial institutions offer mobile apps so you can suspend your card if it’s lost or stolen and to look at account activity.

Use Safe ATMs

Ever seen an ATM that doesn’t look very safe to use? That’s probably because it isn’t. Check for ATMs that look tamper-proof and try to get cash back at stores instead of using stand-alone machines.

If you have extra time, find the machine located at your financial institution. Those are typically checked daily to make sure it’s working properly and hasn’t been tampered with.

If the card reader sticks out from the body of the machine, shake it to see if it comes off or has been separately attached. Skimmers can read your debit card number and use it to make online purchases or get financial institution information from you with your name and number.

Hide Your PIN

Cover your PIN whenever you’re using it at a public machine and never share your PIN number with someone else. This will make it easy for a fraudster to skim your number and use the PIN to withdraw money, make purchases, or hack your account further.

Download the A+ Card Guard App

For an extra layer of protection, download the A+ Card Guard app to receive real-time alerts about potentially fraudulent activity on your debit card. You can easily suspend your debit card if it’s ever lost or stolen and set up transaction alerts to see certain purchases made.