Protecting your credit and debit cards

Credit cards and debit cards are a popular payment option for many bank depositors. Be sure to take the appropriate steps to protect your cards – and your credit rating.

The following strategies will help prevent your credit card or debit card from being misused according tohttps://www.td.com.

Protect your Personal Identification Number.

Guard your cards.

Always know the location of your debit and credit cards. Keep them in a safe place and never leave your them in the car or an exposed area at work.

Don’t lend your cards to anyone.

When making a purchase, keep your card in view at all times. Watch to make sure it is not “double-swiped” if the merchant swipes your card for you.

It sounds simple enough, but don’t forget to take your card after using it at an ATM or to paying for a purchase.

Carry with you only the cards you need.

Never provide your credit card number over the phone unless you are dealing with a reputable company or you initiated the call yourself.

Conduct your ATM and debit transactions when and where you feel most secure. Watch for debit machines that don’t look authentic, plastic sleeves where you insert your card, or suspicious individuals nearby.

If using drive-through ATMs, keep your doors locked and close your window as soon as possible.

Be conscious of anyone trying to distract you at an ATM.

Finish your transaction before talking to others.

Check your records, statements and activities.

Check your account statements as soon as they arrive and review your passbooks on a regular basis to ensure all transactions and charges are correct. Look for extra or missing transactions and report any discrepancies immediately.

Review your daily withdrawal limits. If you do not need a high daily limit, reduce it. This will help to contain fraud by reducing the amount someone could access.

Report missing cards immediately.

If your card is lost, stolen or retained by an ATM, notify your financial institution immediately.

Making use of the ATM

The ATM can serve the customer in many ways. A report by http://www.wikihow.com gives some of them.

• Withdraw money: You can withdraw money from almost any ATM, regardless of the associated bank (though this may incur fees). You will usually have two withdrawal options:

Targeted withdrawal allows you to specify how much you want to withdraw by typing in the amount. Most ATMs and banks limit how much you can withdraw from an ATM in a given day.

Deposit money: You can deposit money as long as you are using an ATM associated with your bank. You should be presented with the choice of what account you want the money deposited in. The funds may not be immediately available, or only some of them may be immediately available.

Deposit cash: This is usually fed into the machine, though sometimes a deposit envelope may be required. If you are using a modern ATM, you should be able to insert a stack of bills, often between 30 and 50 bills at a time, and the machine will count them up automatically.

• Check your account balance: You should have the option to check your account balance, or how much money you have available in your account, so long as you are using an ATM associated with your bank. This balance is often printed out on a receipt or sheet of paper, although it may be displayed on the screen as well.
• Transfer money or make payments: Many bank’s ATMs will allow you to transfer money between multiple accounts you hold with the same bank, or even transfer money to other people’s accounts. Occasionally, you may also have the option to make payments, such as paying pre-set up bills or fees on your bank account itself.