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Tips to protect your Card

Of course, we will do everything we can to make sure that you can pay safely with your ICS Card. There is also a lot you can do to prevent abuse, with these tips.

Keep your credit card and your PIN safe

  • Make sure you can always see your credit card when you pay. Do not hand your credit card to a shop or restaurant employee.
  • Never lend your credit card to anyone.
  • Watch out for “credit card pick‑up fraud”: never give your credit card to anyone. Not even to someone who says they are from the bank, the police or a courier service.
  • Keep your PIN secret and never share it with anyone.
  • Choose a secure PIN. A secure PIN is:
    • Not easy to guess, for example not your postcode or date of birth
    • Not the same as the one for your bank card
    • Not the same as the one for your phone or wearable, for example, a smartwatch
  • Hide your PIN when you pay.
  • Do not keep your PIN close to your credit card.
  • Store your credit card in a safe place immediately after use.
    • Not loose in your trousers or jacket pocket
    • Not in an unattended bag (such as a backpack or bicycle bag)
    • Not in a (locked) car
    • Not in your hotel room
    • Not in places where others can walk in and out (workplace, changing room)
  • Check regularly that you still have your credit card with you.
  • When you use your credit card, always check that you receive your own Card back.
  • Have you received a new credit card? Log in to My ICS Business right away and check your account overview.

Withdrawing cash and paying at an ATM

  • Only withdraw money from an ATM when you feel safe and are not being distracted.
  • Do not give others the chance to watch you while you withdraw cash or pay at a machine. Shield the machine and hold your hand above the hand you use to enter your PIN.
  • A common type of fraud (especially abroad) happens when someone offers to help you after an error message appears on the ATM. This person tells you what to do next. Before you realise it, the scammer knows your PIN and has taken your credit card from the machine.
  • Check whether the ATM’s card reader matches the image on the machine’s screen. Does it look different? Do not use the machine and call the bank that owns it. The number is usually displayed on the machine.
  • Did you try to withdraw cash, but did not receive any from the machine? Contact the bank and let the police know right away. If someone nearby offers to help, do not accept it. Call the Business Card Service Desk to block your credit card.
  • Check whether the amount that you need to pay on a shop’s payment terminal is correct. Do they need your signature? Check that the amount is also correct on the receipt that you will sign.
  • Take the receipt with you and keep it for your own records. It is proof in case too much money is charged.

Safe use of your digital credit card

  • Payments with Apple Pay or Google Pay are approved with face recognition, your fingerprint or your device’s access code. For some Click to Pay payments, approval is not needed. Other payments are approved in the app. Make sure your access code is not visible when you unlock your phone or wearable, or when you pay with it. Make sure only you know your access code and that no other people have their biometric details stored on your device. If other people’s fingerprints or face recognition are stored on your phone or wearable, we advise you to remove them. You can do this in your phone’s settings. This ensures that only you can pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Click to Pay on your device.
  • Transactions with your digital credit card are approved with the access code of your phone or wearable, not with the PIN of your plastic credit card. Choose an access code that you can remember easily, but that others cannot guess. Do not use your postcode, date of birth or part of your phone number. Also do not use the same code as the PIN of your bank card or plastic credit card. When choosing a passcode for your phone or wearable, avoid sequences such as 1‑2‑3‑4 or 0‑0‑0‑0.
  • To activate the payment option on your wearable, enter your wearable’s access code on the device. After that, you can pay safely with your digital credit card without entering the access code again. With some wearables, you must reactivate the payment option when you take the device off or after 24 hours.
  • With contactless payments using your bank card or credit card, you can normally pay up to € 50 without entering your PIN. Payments with your digital credit card through your phone or wearable must always be approved using the security method you selected. This also applies to payments below € 50. To pay with your wearable, you must always activate the payment option first with your wearable’s access code. With some wearables, this payment option expires automatically after a maximum of 24 hours or earlier, for example when you take your smartwatch off your wrist.
  • Have you lost your phone or wearable, or has it been stolen? Your phone and wearable are payment methods. Take the same precautions to prevent fraud as you would if you lost your physical credit card.
    • Call the ICS Servicedesk on +31 (0) 20 6 600 611 so we can block your digital credit card. We advise you to save this number in your contacts. We also advise you to write it down and keep it with your important documents.
    • If you cannot secure your device remotely, contact your provider immediately to block your SIM card.
    • If you use Apple Pay of Google Pay, block it as soon as possible. Unable to do so? Call us immediately on +31 (0) 20 6 600 611.
    • Report the loss or theft to the police straight away, even if you are abroad.
  • Wearables are worn on your body, such as a smartwatch, ring or bracelet with Near Field Communication (NFC). Some wearables stop working if they are not on your body. This keeps your details safe! If you lose your wearable or if it is stolen, remove your digital credit card from the app of your wearable immediately, report the loss or theft to ICS and file a police report, even if you are abroad.

Keep verification codes secret

  • Keep the verification codes you receive by SMS or email just as secret as your PIN.
  • Criminals pretend to be ICS employees or bank employees and ask for your verification codes. With these codes, they can misuse your credit card.
  • If someone asks for your verification codes on the phone, hang up immediately.