They got me again....I got a notice from my Visa card that someone tried to use it on the west coast. Now, I have to get a replacement card.

This will be the third time in less than two years. One was someone in New York trying to buy expensive jewelry, another was the Target fiasco, and then now someone on the west coast. Each time, you have to get a new card and change any online accounts that you use it for.

This time I got an email from Chase Bank about it and almost ignored it as it really looked alike a phishing email. I did call the number on the back of my card and found out what was going on. I get way to many emails trying to tell me that my card is bad, I owe the toll road, or similar things that look way to close to the real thing.

I must say that the people at Chase Bank were very professional about the entire thing and getting it straightened out. It was kind of a pain as they asked a lot of questions to make certain that I was who I said I was but that is really a good thing. They also are great at getting new cards to me quickly.

So......My real question is how many credit cards is reasonable. I have two now which is in case one card is bad because of fraud and then I have a back up. I am considering if it would be reasonable to have one that only attaches to certain online accounts because those are the most vulnerable. I do not see this problem with fraud getting any better and expect that there will continue to be an increase in the fraud levels.

One last thing that I have found which helps is that if you are taking a vacation somewhere it is a good thing to call the credit card company and tell them where you are going to be so that they do not think it is fraud and cancel the card while you are on vacation. It can really make a difference if you are going to be out of the country.