While credit cards may be safer than cash or gift cards when it comes to fraud (due to limitations on liability in some types of unauthorised transactions), they still carry some risk. Wherever there is an opportunity for abuse, there are thieves willing to take advantage. When it comes to credit card fraud, there are thieves aplenty. Fortunately though, by understanding some of the common ways they retrieve credit card information, you can better protect your cards.

Here are three ways thieves can get your credit card information:

1. Dishonest Employees

This is one of the more worrying types of credit card fraud–an employee with a company you trusted enough to do business with copies your credit card information. This is rather low-tech theft. You hand over your card at a restaurant for processing, or perhaps you read your credit card details to someone taking your telephone order. They enter your information into their system to process your order, but they also jot down a copy of that information to use later for unauthorised transactions (or they sell it).

2. Consumer Carelessness

Sometimes it’s our own actions that lead to credit card fraud. For example, if you lose your credit cards and don’t report it quickly to your issuing bank (so the cards can be disabled), you run the risk of the person finding your cards using them for fraudulent purchases. Another problem is paper records. If you receive credit card statements via the post, and you throw those paper documents out, some of your account information may be on them. Don’t discard papers with your account number, address, credit limit info, or other personal details without first shredding them.

3. Computer Hacking

This more advanced form of credit card fraud doesn’t usually target an individual credit card holder. Instead, the hacker attacks a computer database of a business, retrieving a copy of the credit card details for some or all of that company’s customers. Hacking can result in hundreds or thousands of people’s credit card details being exposed to credit card fraud. Businesses working with your personal information generally have strong security measures in place though, making this kind of incident less likely to affect you than others.

Always know where your credit cards are, and keep a record of where and when they were used. Those two simple things can go a long way towards protecting you from credit card fraud, allowing you to report lost cards quickly and compare any suspicious activity on your statement to the places where you used your cards around the same time period. It’s far better to be proactive in preventing and catching fraudulent activity than reacting too late, only after the money is gone and your credit file is potentially tarnished.