Chase Debit Card Fraud Prevention Tips from Brittney Castro

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of CHASE. The opinions and text are all mine. This is a partnerships about chase debit card fraud prevention tips, to help you stay safe while shopping.

This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with CHASE and Latina Bloggers Connect

Chase is helping families across America be more safe while shopping for back to school and everyday life. They have teamed up with Brittney Castro to bring you some great tips to keep your information safe. I have teamed up with Chase to help spread the word, and since I have personally and very recently been effected by fraud I wanted to share my story with you.

In July I took my teens to Seaside, Oregon for a peaceful beach day, and to shop the outlets for back2school clothes. We scored a lot of good deals that day, and we left feeling like it was one of our best days of summer. We stopped at a few different places we had never been before though, and a couple days later I realized my banking account was compromised. I was visiting online banking, checking my checking account balance, and I came across a transaction for $1070.00 to a casino near Seaside. I was shocked, scared, furious, but most of all I had barely any money left. They wiped out my checking account. I had $60 left to my name, and lots of bills due. If I had seen chase debit card fraud prevention tips from Brittany Castro before that trip it would have probably prevented this from happening.

The thing is though, even shopping online people need to be aware that online debit card fraud happens… happens a lot. My situation was in person. My bank told me that my banking card numbers were stolen, as the transaction was an in person debit transaction, it was not a stolen check, and it was not done online. However, every day innocent shoppers are victims of fraud when they go online and shop due to unsecured networks, websites, and weak passwords. My experience was a debit card skimming scheme that got a hold of my debit card numbers. I never visited the casino. I had not been to a casino in 2 years. My bank card was cancelled, I had to wait 7 days for a loan to return the stolen money, and I had no money to pay the bills that were due right then. It was a hassle having to call each company and explain the situation so I could ask for an extension. My bank issues me a new debit card with a chip in it. With Chase debit card fraud prevention tips I could have at least been aware that this happens. I had no clue at all. Chase believes that using the chip device whenever possible will help prevent debit and credit card fraud. This is because the chip reader prevents skimming by creating individual number for each transaction. So card scammers do not like the chip device, and they are less likely to be successful in skimming your information.

What I learned from my experience is that we have to be very careful when shopping period. It doesn’t necessarily mean that just because you are shopping in person you won’t get scammed. Even online debit card fraud is an issue. You need to be careful where you are using your card both in person and online. Chase’s financial education partner, Brittney Castro, has some helpful Chase debit card fraud prevention tips that will keep you safer when shopping for back to school.

• use secure https sites instead of http when you purchase things online
• don’t swipe your card if you don’t have to. Use the chip reader whenever possible
• strengthen your online passwords

To learn more about how you can prevent fraud watch Brittney Castro’s Fraud Video and by visiting Chase’s Fraud Security where you will find a lot more tips to keep your financial data safe.