It’s hard to imagine life without debit and credit cards. We use these handy pieces of plastic everywhere, and card readers are so widespread that some of us don’t even carry cash anymore. Unfortunately, as credit and debit cards have become common, so have data breaches and identity thefts.
According to Self Financial, there are more than 650,000 cases of identity theft in America each year. 41% of those thefts involve credit card fraud—i.e. someone stealing your card information and using it to make purchases and open applications in your name. Look through this list of common card risks, and you’ll find that swiping your Visa or Mastercard isn’t always the best option.