LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Travel season is theft season. While you're checking in, debating over dinner or worrying about the exchange rate, criminals could be targeting your cards.
Senior Vice President of Retail Alicia McCoy at Delta Trust Investments spoke to THV's Craig O'Neill on 'Today's THV This Morning' with tips on keeping yourself protected.
It's summertime and lots of people are traveling and taking vacations. What do you tell your banking customers about traveling?
The main thing we want people to know is to notify your bank when you plan on traveling. At Delta Trust and at most other banks, your ATM/debit card is closely monitored for suspicious activity and transactions from unusual locations classify as a suspicious behavior. Once that happens, your card is deactivated for your protection.
So if your bank knows ahead of time then you can prevent the deactivation?
Exactly. If we are aware that you will be making purchases from unusual locations then we can anticipate this behavior on you card and respond accordingly. It's very frustrating for customers when they unexpectedly cannot use their card, so we want to prevent this frustration especially when they are on vacation!
What else should people remember to do when traveling?
Traveling now is a lot easier because of technology. You are able to access your banking accounts through mobile banking or online banking and always know what happening with your account. Now, it doesn't matter if you are in a completely different time zone than your bank because you can transfer money online. Technology has definitely made traveling easier on the consumer.
Any other debit card security news or industry hot topics?
We are seeing a shift in debit and credit card security. Over the next few years, 2013-2015, the magnetic stripe that we currently use will be replaced by EMV chip technology. These new chip cards are way more secure because your information is embedded in a chip and processing is cryptographic. Information on a magnetic strip is static and can be extracted easily.
This new chip card will cut down on fraud?
Yes, it will when making purchases in person. Shazam recently reported that while the US generates 27% of purchases worldwide we also account for 47% of card fraud. Many believe that the chip will decrease this high percentage of fraud.
Speaking of technology, we've recently heard a lot about the new ATM regulations. What can you tell us about that?
In 2010, a ruling was made that requires all ATMs to be equipped with speech-enabled technology, headset jacks and other items to allow visually impaired customers to use the machines without assistance. All ATMs had to be updated by March 15 of this year so the next time you visit an ATM then you should see the updates.
If you have questions for Alicia, you can contact her at 501-907-2280 or amccoy@delta-trust.com.