Protect yourself from credit card fraud + MORE Jun 25th

(Shaun Egan/Getty Images)
OTTAWA – As Canadians head out for their holidays this summer, they’re going to be reaching for their credit card to pay their way and experts want them to take some simple steps to protect against fraud.
While entirely eliminating the risk that your card number will be stolen isn’t possible, reducing the chances you will be hit requires mostly common sense.
Don’t lend your card, protect your personal identification number, don’t share your PIN number and check your transactions regularly.
“You should protect your card like you would cash,” says Maura Drew-Lytle, spokeswoman for the Canadian Bankers Association.
Beware of CRA phone scam »
Drew-Lytle says banks are constantly monitoring credit card transactions looking for fraud, so you may want to let your bank know if you’re travelling so they don’t suspect your purchase of a souvenir while on holiday in Europe is someone that has stolen your card.
“If you’re someone that doesn’t travel a lot and all of a sudden they see transactions from Spain on your credit card, they may block it thinking it is fraudulent,” she said…

Paying off all your debt at once will help, but it won’t rebuild a slumping credit score by itself. To speed the process, add some new, positive loan payment history. Here’s how

(Getty Images)
Beware—another telephone scam is on the rise, and if you’re not careful, it could cost you.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning taxpayers to watch out for scammers that call, impersonate official agents, and issue threats of court charges, jail time and even deportation for failure to pay a fake outstanding tax debt.
The caller then demands to be paid via some pretty unofficial means. For instance, they tend to ask the unsuspecting taxpayer to purchase prepaid credit cards and to stay on the phone with them to pass along the information. They may also request Western Union, MoneyGram or even your bank’s E-Transfer service.
“It’s a massive scam,” says Daniel Williams, a fraud specialist with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In fact, it’s the biggest phone scam they’re currently dealing with. Out of the 300 or so complaints the Centre can handle daily, lately up to one-third have been regarding the phony CRA callers.
Williams says the amount of money that the fraudsters demand can be anywhere between $700 and $2,500…

June 24, 2015: Average APR on new card offers inched up this week for the first time in over a month, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.