CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Doing some online shopping these days? Here's why you should be monitoring your credit score.
With so many different types of scams out there, it’s a good idea to know if your credit has been affected. This is an issue that seems to just grow every year. Last year, in 2020, consumers lost $3.3 billion to fraud, which is a huge jump from the year before.
If you shop online (most of us do) and have done a lot of it in the past 18 months, you need a credit card to make it happen. But how often do you check your credit? Every year you get a freebie, but because of the pandemic, you get more bites of the apple, so you can check more often.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to the Defenders team by emailing money@wcnc.com.
“You really have to know what’s going on with your account, because of the pandemic, you can check for free until April, after that it’s once a year, but I don’t think that’s even often enough," Mark Henry from Alloy Wealth Management in Charlotte, said. "I actually pay for a service to monitor my credit.”
“It’s ok to be skeptical when people are sending you free stuff or asking you to fill in something because you won something," Henry added.
With so many cyber security threats popping in the news, he said it’s important to lock everything down, passwords, accounts, and be skeptical about what you click on.
Random links through coupons or online games in social media may contain malware that infects your device. If your information is compromised, you won’t know unless you check.
RELATED: More than half of all Americans carry credit card debt. Here's how to manage your balance better
Here’s an added layer to this. It’s called a refund recover scam. Once you’ve lost your money, someone emails you saying they can help recover the money you lost. -- for a fee.
If you pay them anything to try to get your money back, you’ll lose that too. It’s really best to be a skeptic on the front end so you don’t end up in this situation.
Contact Bill McGinty at bmcginty@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook.
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.