With credit card fraud and identity theft happening more frequently, we all have to step up our game. Learn keys ways to protect your finances and identity! Fraud Protection I hope you never have to deal with identity theft, data breaches, or fraud but chances are you will. There were 4.8 million identity theft and fraud reports received by the FTC in 2020, an increase of 45 percent from 2019. The Ascent from Motley Fool reported that credit card fraud was the most common type of identity theft last year – over 270,000 reports. Another unfun stat – identity theft doubled from 2017 to 2019. Finally in 2019 almost 165 million records containing personal data were exposed through data breaches. The point?  Cyber crimes aren’t going away anytime soon. In fact last year, I got it.Twice. The first one, I received a call from Coastal about suspicious activity on my card. Thankfully that was quickly resolved.  Second time, I discovered it when doing my monthly review. I saw a $140 charge from California. I called and explained this wasn’t me.  It took a month of back and forth, but I got it cleared. I was a headache. One I hope you avoid.    Which is why I’m so glad Joe Mecca is back on the show.  In this episode we get into: Practical ways we can protect our finances when you're offline or online What you need to do if your card is compromised Hope you enjoy it! Resources to Protect Your Finances If you're getting more proactive with protecting your identity and money, here are some handy resources to check out! Best Budget and Money Apps: Personal Capital, Tiller, Mint Grow Your Stash Faster: High Yield Savings with CiT Bank Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money IdentityTheft.gov Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft Annual Credit Report: Free way to review each of your credit reports LastPass Easy Ways to Prevent Identity Theft Report reveals data breaches that could affect millions of Americans  Why credit card fraud hasn't stopped in the US For freezing your accounts or putting an alert you need to contact the credit bureaus. Equifax: 1-888-766-0008 Experian: 1-888-397-3742 TransUnion: 1-833-395-6938 Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal! Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! If you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better, come check out Coastal today. Key Takeaways on Dealing with credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Before we wrap up, I want to share a few key takeaways I got as I was preparing this episode. Get Your Free Love & Money Guide Learn the ice breakers and conversation starters to make talking about money easier!   Join our community to get the free toolkit and newsletter! Get Instant Access We never share your information with third parties and will protect it in accordance with our Privacy Policy Prepare yourself now. It’s not a matter of if, but when. It’s critical that we all become more vigilant. Don’t reuse passwords. The way things are now, even if you do a good job on your side. Data breaches can happen so please mix your passwords. Become familiar with tools and options available. I love that coastal has redone card nav, giving it more features. Like Joe mentioned, if you bank somewhere else, it’s good to become familiar with whatever features or services that offer.  Unfortunately things like these aren’t going away, so if you want to discuss this more – ask questions, swap ideas, and maybe get a debt-free strategy set up – don’t forget to join us in the Thriving Families group on Facebook. We swap ideas and tips because our goal is to help one another out with our family and financial goals.  Hope to see you there! Support the Podcast! Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it. Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share. Leave a revie