Visa Credit Cards Security and support
Designed to help you keep your transactions and personal information safe.
From online shopping to in-store purchases, Visa offers comprehensive support to ensure the security of your transactions.
Designed to help you keep your transactions and personal information safe.
Never reveal sensitive numbers or passwords for unsolicited requests.
Let your card issuer know you’ll be traveling before you go.
Don't respond to or click links inside of suspicious emails.
Visa helps take the risk out of shopping.
Assure the merchant that you have your card in hand.
Now your information can be validated automatically.
Visa constantly scans for suspicious activity and will alert your bank about questionable transactions.
To safeguard your security, your financial institution may temporarily put suspicious charges on hold.
Your financial institution will notify you to verify the legitimacy of questionable charges.
With Visa's Zero Liability Policy you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges.
Visa’s Zero Liability policy does not apply to certain commercial card and anonymous prepaid card transactions or transactions not processed by Visa. Cardholders must use care in protecting their card and notify their issuing financial institution immediately of any unauthorized use. Contact your issuer for more detail.
Notify your financial institution immediately of an unauthorized use. The transaction at issue must be posted to your account before replacement funds may be issued.
Provisional credit for unauthorized transactions may be withheld, delayed, limited or rescinded by your issuer based on delays in reporting unauthorized use, verification of a claim and account standing and history.
Visa innovations in fraud protection, chip technology and tokenization are protecting you when you shop in store, online and on mobile devices.
Thieves may attempt to assume your identity to open new accounts, obtain loans in your name, or make unwanted purchases by using items such as your driver’s license or Social Security number.
Protect yourself from identity theft by monitoring your card and account statements weekly, reporting all lost or stolen cards immediately and by contacting your financial institution if your replacement card or new card does not arrive on time.
If you are a victim of identity theft, call (866) ID-HOTLINE or visit the Call for Action website.
Phishing refers to scams that attempt to trick consumers into revealing personal information that can be used to commit fraud. Such scams can happen over the phone, email, mail and text message.
Phishers often target users with fake internet sites or email messages that are disguised to seem legitimate, or leverage social networking sites where users are already sharing information with others.
Look out for common tactics such as subtle misspellings in URLs, or substitutions such as using “.biz” instead of “.com.”
If you receive an unsolicited message asking you to confirm account information, be extremely cautious – financial institutions do not proactively request this sort of information.
Some scammers may send you official-looking letters or pose as representatives from a financial institution on the phone.
Visa will not call or email cardholders to request personal account information. Report suspicious calls or emails by calling the number on the back of your card.
Do not give out information unless you have initiated the communication or have verified the source.
To protect yourself online, visit only trusted merchants and avoid sites that ask you to provide unnecessary information, such as your Social Security number. Never send payment information by email.
Check to make sure that transactions occur in a secure environment by looking for the padlock icon at the bottom of your browser. Any website URL where you enter sensitive information should begin with https://.
Visa Checkout also provides added security by offering advanced authentication tools when you use Visa Checkout to shop online.
Cover the keypad when you enter your PIN and be aware of your surroundings.
If you are using a drive-through ATM, lock your doors and roll up your other windows. Don’t leave your car running or unlocked if you decide to walk to the ATM.
We all have a role to play in keeping our financial accounts safe. Similar to the way you protect your physical wallet today, it’s important to protect your digital payment experience.
As electronic and mobile commerce options expand, the payments industry, with its long history of security and fraud prevention, is using advanced technology to protect consumers. At the same time, even the most secure application can be compromised, especially if you use a weak password or if your device is unlocked and ends up in the hands of someone else.
There are a few simple things you can do to help
Make sure access to your money is as secure as it is convenient. Keeping your sensitive information safe can be easy and inexpensive, while providing immediate benefit in protecting against identity theft and fraud.
Essentially, keep three letters in mind to “L-O-K” access to your money and keep it safe:
Enable device passwords
Set devices to require a password before they can be used. Enjoy the benefits of additional layers of security mobile devices or PCs offer.
Connect to secure networks and applications
Choose secure network connections you trust. A simple test: more secure WiFi connections require passwords and are easily identified as “WPA or WPA2.” Highly-unsecure WiFi is wide-open for anyone to connect to, and may be labeled as a “WEP” connection.
Keep your device updated
Hardware and software manufacturers release frequent updates to optimize performance and security. Stay aware of updates and their impacts, and ensure they are installed.
Use security software
Be smart about it – activate applications for detecting and removing threats, including firewalls. Also activate virus and malware detection and intrusion-detection systems.
Keep your private stuff private
Don’t share sensitive data with those you don’t trust. This includes when you respond to email requests, phone inquiries or allow control to anyone you would not normally hand over actual physical wallet to. Credible service providers and support staff will never ask for private information such as passwords or payment-account numbers.
Keep login credentials secure
Easy access to usernames and passwords leads to misuse. Don’t write down information used to access your digital payment account in plain view or store in an unprotected file.
Use a password that only works with your digital payment account
Don’t use the same password you use for other accounts especially email or social networking sites. This increases the risk of unauthorized access. Instead, use an easily remembered, yet hard-to-guess password unique to your digital payment account.
Identify who to contact if there are issues, before one arises
Financial institutions, payment networks and merchants are all needed to make electronic and mobile payments work. Make sure you understand the quickest way to resolve any issues that arise and who is responsible for any fraudulent activity on your account. Scenarios to consider:
Review contract terms and conditions
This is where rights and liabilities are defined. Topics should address data privacy, opting-in and out of various features and impacts of enrolling and canceling accounts and services.
These Digital Payment Best Practices are informational recommendations only. Visa does not warrant or guarantee that these recommendations are the only steps you need to take to protect your online security. For more information, visit www.visa.com/security.
Using new technologies can sometimes require extra precautions. We've gathered a few simple steps to help you stay secure.