Make passwords difficult to guess and update them periodically - Strong passwords are at least 10 characters long and contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Also, don’t use the same password on multiple accounts. If the password is stolen from one of the companies where you do business thieves can use it to take over all your accounts.

Memorize your PIN - Don't write it down and keep it with your card. It should be easy for you to remember but difficult for anyone else to guess.

Give personal information over encrypted websites only - Make sure your browser has a secure connection by looking for the padlock icon or look for https at the beginning of the web address before submitting any login info or private data.

Log out after each session - Always log out, especially after using a public or shared computer.

NEVER share your personal, account, or login information with just anyone - Make sure you know to whom you’re giving sensitive information, every time. You can trust Xpectations! Plus, but the same can’t be said of everyone.

NEVER send money to people you don’t know - Fraudsters may attempt to impersonate others to trick you into sending money to fraudulent accounts. Only send money to people you trust.

Keep your software current - Keep your software, including your operating system, web browsers, and your applications up to date to protect against the latest threats. This is especially true for anti-virus and other security software. Most software can update automatically, so make sure to set yours to do so.

Back up your files - Copy your files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. This way, if your computer is attacked by malware, you’ll still have access to your files. Ransomware encrypts not only your hard drives, but any attached backup drives as well. Backing up to a reliable cloud provider adds additional protection against ransomware.

Beware of links and attachments - Instead of clicking on a link in an email, type the URL of a trusted site directly into your browser. Don’t open attachments in emails unless you know who sent it and what it is. Links and attachments may look legitimate but clicking on them could download malware or send you to a scam site.

Get well-known software directly from the source - A common rule-of-thumb is to never download or install something that you specifically didn’t go looking for.

Learn more about protecting yourself from fraud at: PLScard.com