While carrying around your debit and credit cards to make your daily purchases from coffee to lunch to parking is efficient, the convenience could spell trouble. Using your credit or debit card to pay for your purchases puts consumers at greater risk of identity theft and losing key personal information. Here are seven places you should think twice before swiping your debit or credit card to prevent a hacker from intruding into your finances and potentially affecting your credit score. Online Shopping With the proliferation of discount shopping websites, make sure the online retailer you are purchasing from has a safe website, because many aren't secure. Before you enter your credit or bank card information, look for the green lock icon without any overlays, said Shaun Murphy, CEO of Private Giant, an Orlando, Florida-based company that plans to launch a security app for smartphones. "Some sites, including Amazon, will not show you a lock icon until you log-in into your account or begin the check-out process," he said. "This means anyone can see what you are shopping for while you are browsing." Hidden/Out of View Terminals Be wary of the hidden terminals when you are shopping. It could be the gas pump that is furthest away or an unattended station for automatic checkouts at the grocery store, Murphy said.
