Be cautious or else you may fall prey to debit card fraud -Governance Now

Be cautious or else you may fall prey to debit card fraud

We need to keep updating ourselves with preventive measures while using newer technologies for money transfer and payments

Yogesh Rajput | October 21, 2016 | New Delhi

#cyber cell #police #banks #fraud #debit card

The news of vital data of thousands of debit cards being exposed to fraudsters has sent many into a tizzy, with people now calling up their banks and looking up Google on what to do next. Though banks have been sending alerts, to all those whose cards are found to be at risk, along with a host of to-do steps while using a debit card, there is one basic precautionary measure I would advise everyone to follow – something that I learnt while reporting in Chandigarh.

For this, let us rewind to the year 2013. The Chandigarh police had received a complaint from a lady who alleged that transactions of over Rs 70,000 were made from her debit card without her knowledge. However, the more surprising element in the complaint was that she had the card with her all the time while shopping purchases were being made in Ludhiana. And this was not a one-off complaint. The police received similar such complaints in a short span of time.

After investigation, the Cyber Cell of the Chandigarh police arrested two youth, and recovered blank cards with magnetic strips and magnetic readers.

Here was their modus operandi: First, the accused built a rapport with the staff of petrol pumps across several cities, including Delhi and Chandigarh, and provided them with magnetic readers. Whenever a customer would give his or her card to the staff for making a payment, they would tell the customer that the card machine is kept in the office or somewhere away from the petrol filling booth. Once the card was away from the sight of the customer, they would swipe the card twice – once on the original card machine to make the actual payment and another on the machine with a magnetic reader.

The magnetic reader would capture the vital data of the debit card which could later be transferred electronically to a blank card containing magnetic strips. The new card, thus, acted as the original debit card through which the duo easily made purchases and transactions.

This trick has been used many a time and police departments of various cities have arrested people for such frauds. So, the basic precautionary measure one needs to take is to ensure that the debit card is swiped right in front of one’s eyes.

As India moves towards a more technology-driven (or cashless) economy, newer methods of crime would also be devised. And we need to be prepared for them.

Also read our story on cashless economy.

Comments

Other News

Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure released

The final ‘Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure’ by ‘India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development’ was released in New Delhi on Monday. The Task Force was led by the

How the Great War of Mahabharata was actually a world war

Mahabharata: A World War By Gaurang Damani Sanganak Prakashan, 317 pages, Rs 300 Gaurang Damani, a Mumbai-based el

Budget expectations, from job creation to tax reforms…

With the return of the NDA to power in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are now on finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s full budget for the FY 2024-25. The interim budget presented in February was a typical vote-on-accounts, allowing the outgoing government to manage expenses in

How to transform rural landscapes, design 5G intelligent villages

Futuristic technologies such as 5G are already here. While urban users are reaping their benefits, these technologies also have a potential to transform rural areas. How to unleash that potential is the question. That was the focus of a workshop – “Transforming Rural Landscape:

PM Modi visits Rosatom Pavilion at VDNKh in Moscow

Prime minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by president Vladimir Putin, visited the All Russian Exhibition Centre, VDNKh, in Moscow Tuesday. The two leaders toured the Rosatom Pavilion at VDNKh. The Rosatom pavilion, inaugurated in November 2023, is one of the largest exhibitions on the histo

Let us pledge to do what we can for environment: President

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday morning spent some time at the sea beach of the holy city of Puri, a day after participating in the annual Rath Yatra. Later she penned her thoughts about the experience of being in close commune with nature. In a message posted on X, she said: