V - RECOMMENDATIOSN FOR DEFENSE OF PERSONAL CREDIT

• A check is a cash payment order. When you issue one, keep in mind it can be cashed immediately.
• Don't walk around with a full checkbook, only with as many checks as you intend to use that day. Do the same with credit cards, take only what you'll use.
• When you stop a check (prevent it from being cashed), you will not be exempt from paying what is due, nor from being protested by the vendor or products and services, except in the cases of loss, theft, or burglary, and upon presentation of the police report.
• A post-dated check is a form of obtaining credit under the agreement that the value of said check may be cashed by the creditor on the date marked in the check. Keep in mind you should control such checks in your budget, by writing down the respective values and dates.
• In the case of theft or loss of checks, communicate such fact to your bank and make a Police report. You can also protect yourself from fraud by calling from anywhere in Brazil SERASA, in the number (11) 232-0137. SERASA keeps a provisory registry which is accessible to its user companies. Keep in mind that such Free Citizen protection Service is provisory and protects against misuse of checks. Therefore, as soon as your bank opens, go to the agency to officially stop the payment of the check.
• When you make financial commitments, keep in mind your household budget, so that you can be sure you'll be able to keep them.
• Do not let third parties use your name.
• If you have any trouble keeping your commitments at due date, negotiate with your creditor a different form of payment for the overdue debt.
• Know the time of delay in which the creditor (Financial Institutions, Credit Card Operators, and others) register the negative entries regarding debts due to them in the Data Bank.
• Keep your mailing address updated at all times before Financial Institutions or companies with which you keep a credit relation.
• Do not volunteer personal data over the phone.
• When making purchased with credit card, accompany the payment operation and do not lose sight of your credit card.
• If the credit card purchase stub comes with carbon paper, disenable it after signing.
• When making online purchases, try to find out if the site is reliable and uses any security system so that you can conclude the transaction without risks.
• A credit card is a personal card. Never lend it to anyone.