I just had my credit card canceled because of fraud. This is actually a perfectly normal occurrence for me, which is the impetus behind this question. The card in question was only about 1.5 years old, because that is how long it has been since my card was last stolen. Over the past decade I would say that I have had my credit card canceled for fraud on average once every 2 years. I think there was once I made it to 3 years, but also at least once where I only made it a year before it was stolen again.
To be clear it isn't being physically stolen and I've never once lost my card. I obviously have no idea how it gets stolen every time (although I'm certainly aware that there are plenty of ways for your card data to be stolen without you knowing). I generally consider myself someone who practices reasonable credit card security. I don't use my card at gas pumps (gas pump skimmers were common in my area for a while), I only use it with major ecommerce vendors online, and I usually use cash at restaurants rather than handing someone my card.
Most people seem surprised that my card gets stolen so often, which makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong even still. However, I don't actually know if that is the case. Fortunately it isn't more than a nuisance for me when it happens. I've never had to pay for any of the fraud and the bank always sends me a new card with a minimal of hassle. It just "costs" me the inconvenience of being cardless for a week or two and then having to update my credit card details everywhere. Still if there were additional steps I could take to minimize the chance of fraud I would take them to try to stop this from happening so often. So, I realize this is a bit broad, but:
- Is having my card stolen every 2 years a sign that I am unlucky, doing something wrong, or is it perfectly normal?
- Are there any other steps I can take to minimize the chances of this happening in another 1-2 years?
A Second card
So far I've had lots of comments about having a second card. That's not a crazy idea, and hasn't really occurred to me. It can certainly help when I'm down a card, although it also has its own disadvantages (one more thing to check every week, one more place to make payments, etc...). Still, while strategies to minimize the inconvenience when my card gets stolen are helpful, I'd rather come up with ways to minimize the chances of my card getting stolen in the first place.