With fraud becoming more and more common, card issuers are always on the lookout for any kind of suspicious activity. More often than not, your card might get flagged for something that was not in fact fraud, but for a purchase that you personally made. Here are some common examples of how your card might get flagged and what you can do to prevent it.
Unusual Spending
Jewelry and technology are two of the most common things to be purchased by fraudulent card users. If the actual owner of the card went out and bought a new computer, the card issuer might freeze the card in suspicion of fraud. Another unusual spending flag is for purchases made online from foreign companies. If you are planning on making a larger purchase that might cause suspicion or an online purchase from a foreign company, let your card issuer know beforehand in order to prevent your card being frozen.
Travel
If your card is used outside of the state (or out of the US) that you are a current resident of, your card will more than likely be flagged for fraud. How strictly your card is watched depends on your personal lifestyle and the company that your card is from. If your job requires you to travel quite often, then you probably won't get flagged for purchases outside of your state (especially if you travel to the same location consistently). On the other hand, some companies have more strict fraud policies than others and you might even get flagged for making purchases outside of your city. If you know you are going to be traveling, give your card issuer a call and tell them the locations that you are going and the dates that you will be there so they can inspect your card activity accurately.
Sporadic Use
A lot of people have a card sitting in their wallet that they rarely use. If the card holder should make multiple purchases using that card within a day or two, the chances of the card being flagged for fraud are pretty high. If you haven't used your card in more than 6 months, contact your card issuer to make sure its still active. You can also let them know you're planning on make purchases with it at that time.
While these are not the only reasons why your card might get flagged, they are among the most common. Whatever the reason is for your credit card being frozen or flagged for fraud, call your card issuer immediately and sort everything out. Usually, they will ask you some questions to verify your identity and go over the recent purchases on your card with you to make sure you did in fact make all of the purchases.
Anything to do with fraudulent activity on your credit card is very serious and should be dealt with immediately. With all of the ways it is possible for criminals to hack, access, or steal your information nowadays, we all need to be cautious.
