By Jocelyn Wood, RCB Bank Marketing

1. Bring only what you need.

When planning your next vacation, pack a lighter wallet, suggests RCB Bank Vice President, Security Officer Christy Wild.

“Bring only the amount of cash you will need and maybe one credit card.”

2. Leave your debit card at home.

“Especially if you are traveling internationally,” says Wild. “Debit cards tie directly to your bank account. If fraudulent charges are made, it is possible money may be taken out of your account that day.”

If debit card fraud goes unnoticed for a number of days, thieves may deplete your funds. Credit card fraud is not an immediate financial impact on you.

Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), federal law limits your liability for unauthorized charges, but your protection depends on the type of card and when you report the loss.

After you report fraud, your bank has to investigate and process your claim, which takes time. Rules pertaining to refund timeframes vary between types of fraud. Ask your bank for details.

3. Keep an eye on your account.

“From the time your card leaves your wallet until the time it returns, it is technically at risk,” Wild says. “It is crucial to monitor your accounts.”

Proper monitoring will help you find discrepancies.

Early detection and fast action to alert your credit card company and bank is the key to protecting your money.

Many credit card companies and banks offer text banking. This is a great fraud detection tool as you can set up transaction alerts.

Set an alert to notify you each time a transaction occurs on your account. This will help you spot charges you did not initiate. Text banking message, data rates and fees may apply.

You can also download your bank’s mobile banking app. This is another good tool that allows you to scan your accounts anytime from practically anywhere.

“Do not log in to your account on a public Wi-Fi network,” Wild says. “Fraudsters hack public networks and can watch you from the shadows.”

4. Tell your bank when and where you are going.

Before you hit the road, notify your bank and tell them your travel plans.

“It’s added protection,” Wild says. “It alerts them to keep a closer eye on your account. Plus, it helps to make sure they don’t decline your card when you are making purchases in another state, which to a bank may look like suspicious activity.”

Invest in yourself. RCBbank.com/GetFit.

Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author and meant for generic illustration purposes only. Member FDIC.

There is a new sophisticated Netflix phishing attack you need to watch out for. They start out very pleasant, saying they have some trouble with your billing info, and pretty please with sugar on top need you to update your payment details. But if you fall for it, they will try to steal your login details, your credit card data, your picture and your ID!

Think Before You Click!

• Never click on a login link or an account verification link in an email. If there is one, bail.
• Check for the green HTTPS padlock. If there isn’t one, bail.
• If there is a padlock, check the name of the site. If it’s not exactly what you expect, bail.
• Don’t ignore telltales such as spelling and grammar errors. If it looks wrong, bail.
• Guard your ID closely. If you’re asked for a selfie or ID when it isn’t absolutely necessary, bail.

Let’s take a closer look.

(Note the simple trick, right there in the subject line, of not spelling out the brand-theft text “Netflix” exactly: the crooks wrote the X as the Greek letter chi, so that Netflix came out as Netfli?.)

Next, you wind up here and that’s where they steal your credentials. But wait, there’s more…

Next, they steal your credit card data:

And trying to keep you on the hook, they throw in a Verfied by VISA page:

Then to add insult to injury, they make you confirm your identity by taking a selfie holding your identity card. Yikes!

An Apple scam is also going around.

Watch out for emails from Apple stating “someone has logged into your Apple ID from an unknown device.” It’s not real.

Stop. Look. Think. Don’t be fooled.

Information provided by Stu Sjouwerman, Founder and CEO of KnowBe4, Inc. Keeping You Informed. Keeping You Aware.

Make text banking your first defense against fraud.

Fraud can happen to anyone. It happened to me and text banking tried to warn me.

I was out of town. I noticed two purchase alerts in my messages. My wife and I share an account and she had recently been to a craft fair, so I assumed they were hers. I was in a hurry and did not verify the transactions. My mistake. A couple of hours later, my bank called to inform us these were fraudulent charges on my wife’s card. Luckily, they caught it quickly and canceled her card before other fraud occurred.

Fraud departments are great at what they do, but so are fraudsters. It’s ultimately up to me to keep track of what is happening on my account. Text banking allows me to monitor account activity quickly and easily throughout the day from my phone. If I don’t recognize an expense, I can check it out right then. Detecting fraud early can help minimize loss.

Many major credit card companies also offer text alerts. Let text banking help you guard your money.

Other cool features:

You can use text banking to check account balances, transfer money between accounts and notify you when your balance falls below a specific dollar amount. You can pick and choose which alerts you want to receive. Smartphone and Wi-Fi not required.

Learn more ways to protect your money at RCBbank.com/GetFit.

Want to know more about text banking?

For more information about text banking and to read frequently asked questions, visit our Text Banking page.

To sign up for text banking, visit any of our RCB Bank locations.

Message, data rates, fees, and other transfer restrictions may apply. Funds may not be available immediately. Delivery of alerts may be delayed for various reasons, including service outages affecting your phone, wireless or internet provider, technology failures, and system capacity limitations. Any time you review your balance, keep in mind it may not reflect all transactions including recent debit card transactions or checks you have written.

Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author and meant for generic illustration purposes only. Message, data rates and fees may apply.