Securing your Debit/Credit Card Payment with few simple steps
On October 19 of last year, India witnessed one of its largest financial data breach when nearly 32 lakh debit cards across 19 banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, were compromised. The impact was astonishing. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reported that at least 90 ATMS were hit across the country and approximately 640 customers lost Rs 1.3 Crore. Nearly a year on from the nightmare, the threats to banking systems loom larger than ever, with security networks still remaining a step behind. In the larger context of banking systems, it may be difficult to safeguard oneself at an individual level. However, the same does not apply to debit and credit cards. Securing your debit and credit cards may not necessarily be a complicated affair if a few cautious steps are followed. A simple knowledge of duping and skimming methods, along with a conscious approach can go a long way in securing your cards from fraudulent activities.
Plastic money has become a widely preferred weapon of choice for people while hunting down commodities online and at shops. Unfortunately, plastic money has also become an easy target for fraudsters looking to dupe people out of their money, with online space now becoming more of a natural habitat. In today’s world, online shopping carries major significance when it comes to utility purchases. Making payments through debit or credit cards is considered a convenient option for online purchases. However, these payments should be given utmost attention. Many cyber criminals target debit and credit card information online to steal money and make fraudulent transactions. Go only to well-known, established sites for e-shopping. Also make sure that the website uses the ‘https’ protocol instead of ‘http’, where, ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’. Additionally, make sure not to click on the option that asks for saving your card details on any site.
Using ‘Public Wi-Fi’ could cause a bigger risk while paying through credit cards. Many people don’t realise the risk a public Wi-Fi could give and continue to use them. Avoid using public Wi-Fis for credit and debit card transactions. Any person making online payments from their work place or using a temporary desktop should also consciously avoid saving their passwords as that makes the account easily accessible to others and therefore exposed to threat. By the time the card holder can realize any inconsistencies, the payment is executed and the money is stolen. PIN Number, OTP, CVV are key things any cybercriminal needs to operate while making payment from another person’s card. Banks usually give messages and warn their customer to stay safe by not sharing the information to anybody who asks them. Moreover, the information holder should not give out such details unless the query is from a trusted source. Many cyber criminals use emails and messages to trick people by intimating they’ve won a big amount from a lucky draw and in turn ask for their card details in order to carry out the payment. People may fall gullible to such situations and give away their card details without realizing the future consequence of the action. In most cases, these proposals should be downright ignored. If a person is still inclined to go through with it, make sure the credibility of the source is thoroughly checked.
ATMs are considered as a safe way to withdraw cash, allowing a person to withdraw money anytime and anywhere they. Even while withdrawing cash from ATMs, the person should be cautious as their card details could be detected from a magnetic machine attached in the ATM machine. The card could get stuck into the machine and magnetic machine attached to it will read the details. These details can be later used by fraudsters make payments with ease.
