Making a Difference


The following suggestions may help you protect your credit card, debit card, and ATM card accounts.

For all cards you carry:
  • Know where your cards are at all times and keep them secure
  • Be cautious about disclosing your account number over the phone unless you know you're dealing with a reputable company.
  • Never put your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard.
  • Draw a line through blank spaces on charge or debit slips above the total so the amount cannot be changed.
  • Don't sign a blank charge or debit slip.
  • Tear up carbons and save your receipts to check against your monthly statements.
  • Cut up old cards - cutting through the account number - before disposing of them.
  • Open monthly statements promptly and compare them with your receipts. Report mistakes or discrepancies as soon as possible to the special address listed on your statement for inquiries. Under the FCBA (credit cards) and the EFTA (ATM or debit cards), the card issuer must investigate errors reported to them within 60 days of the date your statement was mailed to you.
  • Keep a record - in a safe place separate from your cards - of your account numbers, expiration dates, and the telephone numbers of each card issuer so you can report a loss quickly.
  • Carry only those cards that you anticipate you'll need.
  • Periodically check your account activity. This is particularly important if you bank online. Compare the current balance and recent withdrawals or transfers to those you've recorded, including current withdrawals and purchases and your recent checks. If you notice transactions you didn't make, or if your balance has dropped suddenly without activity originated by you, immediately report the problem to your card issuer. Someone may have co-opted your account information to commit fraud.
For Cards with an associated PIN number, such as an ATM or Debit card:
  • Never disclose your PIN to anyone. Ozaukee Bank will never ask you for your PIN.
  • Don't use your address, birth date, phone or Social Security number as the PIN and do memorize the number.
  • Don't carry your PIN in your wallet or purse or write it on your ATM or debit card.
  • Never write your PIN on the outside of a deposit slip, an envelope, or other papers that could be easily lost or seen.
  • Carefully check ATM or debit card transactions before you enter the PIN or before you sign the receipt; the funds for this item will be fairly quickly transferred out of your checking or other deposit account.
Ozaukee Bank is a trade name used by Ozaukee Bank N.A. and its affiliates. Member FDIC.