Be aware, an unactivated credit card CAN be charged

A few of you know that I work for a bank. What you may NOT know is that I often work with the ATM Operations group who manages ATM and Debit Cards. I know that a LOT of their time is spent monitoring cards for unauthorized purchases, and to ensure that fraudulent activity is as difficult as possible (while real activity is as easy as possible for the real consumer). And yet, we still get burned all the time. One big way banks ensure against fraud is by making it hard to activate a card if you are not the person who ordered the card.

Now, however, some banks are weakening the protection of card activation in order to get more money into their own coffers by charging for credit protection services. Be VERY careful if you sign up for a new card that you are not hit by this particular scam which is costing consumers thousands in fees and unintended hits to credit ratings.

How to Protect Your Credit

One way to protect your credit is to freeze your credit score. Thirty-six states offer a way to freeze your credit, unfortunately, there are normally costs involved. Ideally, you would freeze your credit score and then lift it temporarily for individual creditors. Check to see your state's laws here.