The simplest strategy for beating credit card fraud is to check your accounts regularly, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
Sound like a pain? Maybe at one point it was, when checking transactions meant logging into several different accounts and combing through records -- or worse, calling your bank. Services such as Intuit's (INTU 2.48%) Mint -- and an in-development pro version called Mint MyBusiness -- make the task easier by automatically adding transactions every time you log in. A cursory glance each morning should give most consumers all the information they need.
There's reason to be so vigilant. Last week, Reuters revealed that six other retailers have been affected by the same malware that stole data from Target's point-of-sale systems over the holidays. As many as 70 million shoppers were at risk as of this writing. Automatically downloading transactions and then checking balances daily increases the odds of finding a breach before it turns into full-scale identity theft, Tim says.
Do you agree? What are your strategies for protecting your financial life? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know what you think.
