Friday, June 16, 2023 – Prevent unauthorized charges by ‘locking’ your bank cards – Finding the model number of a MacBook Pro

Do you worry about hackers and scammers stealing your credit or debit card info and using it to buy things with your money? Or even worse, draining your bank account(s) completely dry?

Unfortunately that’s a valid fear because it happens to countless victims each and every day.

Being protective of your card info and judicious about the places where you use your cards can go a long way towards keeping your accounts safe, but in today’s world there are no guarantees.

Today I’m going to tell you about a little-known tool that’s available to most cardholders that can really help prevent fraudulent charges.

It’s called a “Card Lock”, and the odds are pretty high that your card has one. To find out just log into the account you use to manage the card and look for a button or link that says “Lock this card”, “Lock card” or something similar.

With some cards the Lock/Unlock setting will be front and center as soon as you log in to the account. For others you’ll find it under a “Security” or “Manage Card” tab.

If you’re concerned that locking your card will prevent recurring transactions or scheduled bill payments from going through, don’t be. Any pre-existing recurring charges will be paid.

However, new transactions such as purchases, cash advances or ATM withdrawals will be denied.

Simply unlock your card when you need to use it, then lock it right back after the transaction is complete. This entire process takes just a few seconds with most banks’ mobile apps.

And now, one final tip for this topic…

Most everyone has a PayPal account these days. If you have one, chances are you also have one of PayPal’s debit cards.

Luckily, PayPal debit cards can be locked as well. Just sign in to your account, click on your debit card and finish up by clicking Lock card.