Local shoppers ready for the holiday season

According to Euromonitor, Vietnam is expected to remain one of the fastest-growing emerging markets with consumer spending forecast to jump 42 per cent from 2012 to 2016.

Payment cards are also becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam, where they offer a convenient, secure and transparent way to pay. However, as in other countries where payment cards are popular, criminals can try to take advantage of consumers’ lack of knowledge on how to prevent unauthorized purchases on these cards.

Do not let the fear of fraudsters take away your joy of shopping during this holiday season. As a Visa Cardholder, you can help prevent fraud by following best security practices and by better understanding how your Visa payment card is designed to protect against fraudulent charges.

Your Visa payment card is designed with several anti-fraud features that enable better cardholder protection. It is also important that cardholders follow security steps such as signing the back of the card.

Below are a few more useful tips from Visa to help protect you during the upcoming holiday shopping season as well as a quick, close-up look at your Visa card and the innovative features that help protect you against fraud.

Sign up for email/text "transaction alerts" from your bank: Better yet, take advantage of Visa transaction alerts available from select issuers. Set parameters for receiving an email or text alert when your Visa card is used and keep tabs on your account activity in near real-time. See something suspicious or an unauthorized charge? Report it to your bank right away.

Don’t take the bait: Fraudsters may use “phishes” or fraudulent emails to trick you to submit sensitive personal information. Always carefully review every email asking for personal data, and then check the legitimacy of the request by looking up the company’s phone number and calling to verify the request. Remember that Visa and banks do not solicit personal information via e-mail, unless the cardholder initiated contact.

Guard your PIN from “shoulder surfing”: Carefully shield your PIN from prying eyes anytime you use it and keep your PIN number safe – don’t give it out to anyone.

For online shopping, regularly update your computer’s software and virus protection: Invest in a good anti-virus software program and keep it up to date. Resist the urge to click ‘remind me later’.’ This helps protect against spyware that can steal your personal information.

Create strong passwords: Aim for eight or more characters with letters, numbers, symbols and punctuations. Use different passwords for different sites and change them regularly.

Seek out safety symbols: These include the padlock icon in your browser’s status bar, “https” in the URL, or the words "Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)." These are security layers that are designed to protect your personal data and transactions.

Look for the Verified by Visa logo on eCommerce sites: Verified by Visa is an added layer of authentication, protecting you from fraud and bad merchants. When you see this sign online you know that there is an additional layer of security protecting your card information, and that the merchant who displays it is taking your security seriously.