We’re all at risk of identity fraud every day, but we can do things to limit that risk.  Most of us do things in our everyday life than unnecessarily expose ourselves to identity theft and fraud.  Below are the top 5 things we fail to do to protect ourselves from identity theft and fraud.

Modern payment cards, e.g., credit cards, ATM card, etc., have a built-in chip that transmits the card’s information wirelessly.  This is necessary because to enable contactless payments, which have become popular in recent years.  Criminals can take advantage of the technology by using a scanner wirelessly scan the victim’s payment in the same way a payment terminal would.  These scanners are legal and can buy in electronic stores or online.  Further most modern smartphones have a built-in NFC reader that can be used to unlawfully scan contactless payment cards.  All a would-be thief needs to do is get close to you, let’s say the at the checkout line, and he has your credit card information.  With that information, the thief can make a fraudulent purchase online.  The security industry calls this Card Not Present (CNP) fraud.