Checking you credit card statements is very important.

I recently opened my bill to find a charge that I hadn’t made on the bill. Instead of placing an inquiry online, I called. When I called, the representative also checked to see if the fraudulent charge was on my bill additional times. This is not something that you can check when you make an online inquiry.

Even when you check your bill regularly, make sure that you haven’t overpaid or underpaid something. Electronic payments that are underpaid even by a few pennies can accrue hundreds of dollars in interest or fees.

Fortunately there were no other charges by this company to my card. A true warning sign that this wasn’t a legit company is that there was no contact information listed. I know when I make purchases and also pay attention to companies that state you will be billed from another company. 

Fraudulent charges may appear on your statement in small amounts to see if you question them, then more charges will be made, if you don’t put up a fuss.

I know when I made purchases and I didn’t make a purchase that day, not does anyone have authority to use my credit card.

When using your credit card, make sure that you keep track of it, and also keep track of purchases. This also applies to ATM and debit cards.

For ATM machines, if the machine doesn’t look right, then don’t use it. A process called skimming duplicates your information and then the information is used to drain your account.

I know other people who have had small charges on their phone bill and on their credit card bill who contacted their service providers immediately to avoid any further problems. By not checking, you may be paying for fraudulent charges – spending money on something that you didn’t purchase.

Be aware and check all of your statements.