While credit cards give you an instant flush of liquidity to satiate various needs, they are also vulnerable to frauds. Incidents of credit card frauds are often in the news, which makes it imperative for you to take extra precaution to protect it from fraudsters.
Though a credit card protection plan reimburses the losses incurred in the event of fraud, these handy tips can help you keep your card safe and secure. Read on to know more.
1. Keep details of your card confidential
An effective way to safeguard your credit card from being misused is to keep its details confidential. It’s in your best interest to not disclose your card’s personal identification number (PIN), CVV number, etc., even to your confidants. Memorise them and keep it to yourself.
People often write the PIN and other essential details of their card and leave it at shops and merchant outlets. It is an open invitation to fraudsters and there are high chances of your card getting cloned and misused.
2. Avoid using your card to shop online on shared networks
In the digital era, which has received a massive boost post-demonetisation, online shopping has gained much traction. However, what’s important is to avoid feeding your card details while shopping online on shared networks. They often lack the required protocols for safety and can be pretty easily hacked.
On a hacked network, it’s easy to get all the confidential details of your card as the data isn’t encrypted. With the data, cyber criminals can use your card for fraudulent transactions. It’s best to use your card to shop online on your personal computer with a robust anti-virus and firewall in place. Use the virtual keyboard to input details instead of the physical one.
3. Don’t allow sites to store essential card details
It’s a common trend to allow sites store crucial card details. When you buy things online, there’s a small pop-up which asks whether the site can remember the details entered. To get over the hassle of feeding them each time for a transaction, users often permit sites to store the information.
Read Also: Benefits of Card Protection Insurance in India
The move can prove to be disastrous. If the site is hacked, it’s easy for hackers to retrieve all the information related to your card. Also, check the URL of the website when you transact and make sure it starts with https. ‘S’ at the end is a testimony that the data is transferred over a secured connection. Use secured sites, those with a lock symbol at the end.
4. Be careful of shoulder surfing
When you swipe your credit card at point-of-sale (POS) at merchant outlets, be aware of your surroundings. If you find over-friendly bystanders, it should raise a red flag. Critical details of your card can be stolen through, particularly PIN, shoulder surfing.
Therefore, it’s of utmost importance to conduct all transactions using your credit card at POS at merchant outlets in utmost privacy. Keep a close watch on the movement of bystanders and don’t leave your card with the retailer at any point.
If you receive alerts regarding fraudulent transactions, block your card immediately. Lodge a police complaint and make sure you get in touch with the card issuer to resolve the issue at the earliest. The earlier you report about the fraud, the lower are the chances of suffering damages.
Wallet care from Bajaj Finserv gives you complimentary fraud protection against card frauds. It gives you coverage of up to Rs. 2 lakh against frauds involving PIN-based fraud, phishing, tele-phishing etc. Wallet theft insurance also provides 24×7 card blocking service, wherein you can get your card blocked immediately by dialling a Toll-free number.
This dedicated card protection plan also offers a host of other features such as emergency travel assistance and PAN card replacement, among others. You can opt for this coverage for a year by paying an annual premium of just Rs. 599.