Credit Card Fraud: Important Tips On How To Keep Your Credit Card Safe

In today's digital world, we have shifted from traditional modes of payments in the form of physical currency to digital payments. These days, whenever you buy something one common way of doing financial transactions is swiping or tapping your card, or using mobile payments like Google Pay or Paytm.

Though cashless transactions have made things easier for us in certain ways, this has a negative side too such a hacking. Scammers usually steal your credit card details or debit card details ultimately resulting in financial fraud.

Meanwhile, one should always refrain from providing card details over the phone. One should always identify the sources asking you to share details of your credit over the phone because these can be fraudsters as well. The government has also put in place minimum standards and safeguards to protect consumer data.

Is sharing your card details over the phone risky and how can you minimise the risks?

To ensure compliance with the payment card industry data security standard, it is not illegal if you receive a call from a merchant in order to process card transactions as this is a set of security requirements to protect cardholder data.

However, if someone is calling you randomly and asking for your credit card details, then you should be alert. Some of the tips that can help you minimize the the risk of becoming a victim of fraud include:

1. Verify the caller: Identify if the caller is legitimate and the purpose of the call is genuine.
2. Do not get lured by attractive deals.
3. Always try to use secure payment methods
4. Keep record details of the company, the representative who called you, and the amount being charged.

What you should do if your credit card details have been stolen?

Ensure that you do not panic once you learn that your credit card details are leaked. Instead, take essential steps immediately to avoid any financial loss.

1. Immediately contact your bank and get credit card blocked so that you don't lose money. You can also block/cancel the card via the banking app.
2. Report the issue to the nearest police station or other authorized body.
3. Monitor and track your account(s) to ensure there are no unusual transactions
4. Explore card settings in your banking app/website - many service providers enable you to limit transactions based on value. Do that.
5. You can also consider registering for credit monitoring services and enabling fraud alerts.