CREDIT CARD SAFE USE

 Stay safe from these credit card frauds

Credit cards are a powerful payment instrument as they allow you to easily avail an instant line of short-term credit while making transactions. This helps increase your purchasing power, while also offering benefits like ease of use, reward points and cashback. Regular, on-time payments can also improve your credit score which leads to easier long-term loan approvals. However, alongside all these merits, credit cards also run the risk of being targeted for fraud. While there are several types of credit card frauds, there are safeguards you can put in place to protect your money. Let us see how.

There are many types of fraud happen while a payment.

1)PoS Fraud

In this type of fraud, small skimming devices are attached to normal Point-of-Sale (PoS) devices to hack your data. These devices scan and store the card information while the customer completes a swipe transaction. Usually, this involves a merchant or store employee who shares these details with malicious actors. Similar attachments may also be fastened on to ATM card slots to clone card information, while a camera is secretly placed over the keypad to capture your PIN. 

Safety instruction:- Watch out for suspicious devices connected to PoS units. Always shake or jiggle the slot to see if a cloning attachment comes loose and always cover the keypad with your other hand while entering the PIN. 

And Decrease your tap and pay limit to Rs 2000 and reduce the rink.

2)Online transaction

With everything going digital and the help of AI, fraudsters are becoming intelligent, deriving new ways, becoming more sophisticated with every passing year. With advanced technologies, it is easy to steal data and buy information. Online aliases are making it hard to detect and catch the culprit. In the comparison, time and resources constraints on gathering the evidence and prosecutions are not so much.

Types of online fraud

1) Identity theft

2) Chargeback fraud

3) Triangulation fraud

3)Keystroke logging

Today, since most financial transactions are online, hackers have started relying on keystroke logging through malicious software to grab credit card details. This usually begins after you have clicked on a suspicious link and unknowingly installed malware on your system. The software records every key pressed on the system, eventually stealing card details, PIN and more. 

Safety Instruction:- Use the virtual keyboard available in your operating system. Again, never click suspicious links that may install applications from untrustworthy sources. Use reliable antivirus software on your system for an added layer of protection.

Theft or loss of card

If your physical credit card gets stolen or misplaced, there are chances it could be misused. There are precautions you can take in advance as well as safeguards you can put in place even after it is stolen.

Precautions to take:

• Always memorise your CVV and scratch it off the card to avoid misuse in case it is stolen or misplaced. 

• Set up alerts for all transactions so that you can be notified for any unwanted purchases on your card.

• Use use credit card protection services such as the one provided by card provider bank Bank.