The holidays are fast approaching and this means only one thing.  It’s time to whip out those credit and debit cards to make all of your necessary purchases.  In order to make sure all of the purchases on your next statement are yours, it’s important that you follow these helpful steps.

Keep records of your credit cards

Whenever you receive a credit card, it’s important that you jot down the credit card information on a separate piece of paper.  On this piece of paper, you should include the credit card type, the number, the expiration date, and the number on the back of the card, so that you can contact them.  Make sure that you keep this piece of paper in a safe and secured location.

Besides writing down the information on a piece of paper, it’s helpful to also bookmark all the credit card phone numbers in your cell phone.  This way if your credit card is lost and/or gets stolen, you can contact the credit card company immediately before they do heavy damage.

Watch your credit card

Whenever you’re shopping in a store, make sure you keep your eye on that credit card at all times.  Make sure that the store employee doesn’t do anything suspicious like write down something on a piece of paper, etc.  If this is done, make sure you question the situation immediately.  If something seems fishy, make sure you ask for a manager.

Sign up for online statements

If you haven’t signed up for an online account via your credit card company, do this immediately.  The process isn’t hard at all.  In order to sign up for an online account, simply flip over you card and type in the website.  From here, it will guide you step by step on how you can open up an online credit card account.  If you can’t by chance find the website on the back of the credit card, simply call up the customer support staff and they will be more than helpful to help you out.

The reasons online statements are so helpful are because you can notice transactions almost immediately.  Instead of waiting a month for your statement, you can simply hop online and find the transactions that you have made instantly.

Be organized

Every time you make a purchase with your credit card, make sure you save the receipt.  If you make a purchase online, make sure that you print out a receipt.  Once you receive your monthly statement, make sure you staple all of these receipts to your statement. 

While you’re stapling the receipts to the statement, make sure that you check off each transaction on the paper.  If something doesn’t match up, make sure that you research the situation.  If something seems suspicious, contact your credit card company immediately.

These are a few steps you can follow in order to prevent credit card fraud.  It’s up to you to become responsible with your credit cards.  Remember that you should never lend your card out to anyone and also make sure that you always keep your credit cards in a safe spot.  For more information on credit card fraud, make sure you visit the FTC’s website at ftc.gov.