DEBIT CARD FRAUDS

Debit Card fraud occurs when a criminal gains access to a debit card number and the PIN to make unauthorized purchases and/or withdraw cash from your account.

In the 1st week of September, 2016 a few banks witnessed fraudulent exchanges in which debit cards were utilized in China and the US whereas card holders were in India. Cardholders also found this activities and many filed a complaint with their respective banks. The test by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) found a malware-prompted security break in the frameworks of Hitachi Payment Services, which gives ATMs, PoS (Point of Sale) and other different services in India.

After the test, it was found that ATMs’ security had been breached in May 2016 and all the three service suppliers Visa, MasterCard and RuPay asked banks to either tell their customers to change their PIN, or issue them new cards. Most banks requested their clients to change their ATM PIN, and in specific cases issue new cards by making the old ones null and void.

It is one of the greatest information breaches in the nation. As per NPCI, 90 ATMs have been compromised, and no less than 641 card holders of over 19 banks have lost Rs 1.3 crore as a consequence of deceitful transaction on their debit cards.

In order to alleviate this problem, RBI has set up a specialist board on IT Examination and Cyber Security to help the banks with cyber security activities, and proposes to cover, by 2017-18, all banks under a point by point IT examination program that it propelled in October 2015.

Here are some of the ways to avoid becoming the victim:

1. Banking alerts: On signing up for banking alerts, your bank will contact you by email or text message when certain activity occurs on your account, such as a withdrawal exceeding an amount you specify or a change of address.
2. Use a credit card: Instead of using a debit card for purchasing, use a credit card as it offers greater protection against fraud.
3. Beware of phishing scams: Make sure you know who you’re interacting with, When checking your email or doing business online.
4. Use a secured network: One should never do financial transactions online, while using the computer in a public place and/or over an unsecured network.

Sanchayeeta Das

Legal Associate

The Indian Lawyer