Credit cards and identity theft
As more and more Americans become reliant on credit cards in
their daily life, identity theft is growing. Identity theft is
when someone uses your personal information without permission.
They can obtain credit or use your existing credit to put you in
a serious financial crisis. Prepaid credit cards may be an
option for someone who wants to avoid identity theft.
Prepaid credit cards are a credit card that you add a certain
amount of money to. These cards do not have a set limit, but
rather your spending is based on how much money you put on the
card. The idea is that you can use the card anywhere credit
cards are excepted, but without the worries of debt. You do not
get charged interest charges and can not exceed your spending
limit. These cards are not tied to a bank account and you do not
get monthly bills. This makes prepaid credit cards virtually
unworthy an identity thief's time. If you are approached by
someone trying to steal your identity you can feel protected
with your prepaid credit card. Most of the time these thieves
try to get your credit card number so they can then use it to
make purchases. Even if they do get your credit card number they
still can only use the amount of money you have on the card.
They can not go on a crazy spending spree and since the card is
not attached to any bank accounts, they can not access your
other financial information. This protection doesn't come with
debit cards or regular credit cards.
Using prepaid credit cards everyday or just for occasions, like
traveling, when you could be more prone to identity theft is an
overall good idea. Many thief's are looking for an easy target,
but if you play it smart you won't be that target.