• Credit cards allow people to purchase goods and services without carrying money, but credit cards also have their own inherent risks. According to the Aite Group, credit card fraud costs nearly $9 billion per year. It's important to use credit card tools to regularly check up on your credit card status, scores and other information to make sure fraud doesn't affect your finances.
  
  

Fraud Protection

• Many banks, such as Chase and Bank of America, offer credit card fraud protection tools to prevent your money from being stolen or your account from being jeopardized. These tools usually come free with an approved credit card application. For example, Chase fraud alerts can alert you by text, phone or email when a suspicious charge is made on the credit card. The bank will then notify you how to get in contact with them to reverse the fraudulent charges and cancel the card. Many banks will also reimburse you for any charges made on a credit card after it's been lost or stolen. Contact the bank that issued your credit card to see if it offers fraud protection tools.
  
  

Credit Score Estimator

• A credit score estimator, such as the one from the Credit website, allows you to get an estimate of your credit score. This is particularly helpful if you don't wish to pay a company to get a credit score, or you've already obtained your yearly free credit report. The credit score estimator on the Credit website asks the credit user six questions to determine a credit score estimate, including age of your oldest credit card account, if you've taken out a mortgage or student loan, if you've gone through bankruptcy and more. Some other credit score estimators can be found at Zillow and Mint.
  
  

Mobile Phone Applications

• Several major banks now offer mobile banking phone applications that can be downloaded to an iPhone, Android or Blackberry phone. For example, the mobile banking application from TD Bank allows its customers to log onto their account to check the balance of their credit card, search for ATMs and pay bills. Other banks have mobile applications that allow you to review credit card statements, view recent purchases and receive fraud alerts.
  
  For small business owners, iPay has a "mobile processing solution" application that allows customers to scan their credit cards onto the iPhone interface and make payments.