I recently read an article about the seizure and shutdown of four dark web marketplaces that were selling stolen credit card information. I always like to hear about a win for the good guys!
This got me thinking about how willing we are to give out our credit card numbers in the first place. So, to help you minimize your credit card’s digital footprint, here’s an easy tip.
Whenever you sign up for a free subscription trial, you are always asked to enter a credit card number. The merchant’s hope is that you will either enjoy the site and actually continue to use the subscription, or you will simply forget about it and they get to bill you for it as soon as the trial period has ended.
Instead of giving them your credit card, use a prepaid credit card that has no balance on it. This serves two purposes:
- It will prevent you from getting charged should you forget about it, and
- You’re not giving out your real credit card information to a merchant that at some point may experience a data breach and potentially exposing your credit card number to bad guys.
Great idea – what would an example be? Like a gift card?
Yes, in most cases a gift card will work.