… had my credit card compromised.

Someone(s) tried to use it to buy a $1,200 computer.

I received a text message about the charge immediately (I have my credit cards set up to text me every time any charge is made).

Minutes later, I got another text from my credit card company asking me to confirm/deny what seemed like a suspicious purchase.

Five minutes after I texted back “deny,” I received a call from the fraud department walking me through card cancellation and replacement.

By the time the card thief tried to use it again at a pizza parlor in Brooklyn (apparently, one can work up quite an appetite committing larceny), the card was already shut down.

If I didn’t have all these alerts set up to notify me immediately, it could have been quite the annoying mess to untangle.

There are all kinds of tools (many of them free) to help your business run smoothly. It’s worth a little bit of effort up front to save time and aggravation down the road.