Debit Card Fraud On The Rise
Your debit visa bill has arrived, and with all the grace and poise of someone who is on top of their financial dealings, you take the unopened envelope to the kitchen table and reverently put it down while you make yourself a cup of tea.
You wander back to the table and tear open the envelope, sipping at your tea as you go through your last months purchases.
Let’s see…$60 at the gas station – well fair enough – you do need to be able to get around the place! Now what’s this - $200 at the supermarket – your wife must have picked up the groceries for the week. Moving on…wait a minute! $500 at a designer sportswear outlet? Somehow that does not ring a bell.
You jump up from the table and run to find your wallet – it is as you expected, your credit card is no longer present. It is usually comfortably nestled in there between your driving license and your medicare card, but not any more.
How Could This Happen?
There are many ways for debit card fraud to happen nowadays – it could be something as simple as some dodgy character shoulder surfing at the shops and then conveniently bumping into you when you are weighed down with shopping, deftly pocketing your card after having memorized your pin number while queuing behind you, which is the most likely explanation for the above scenario.
If someone wants to commit debit card fraud against you, they no longer need to pick your pocket. With the increase in online banking and the proliferation of online shopping, the amount of online fraud has increased.
How Does Online Fraud Take Place?
The most common instances of online fraud are through email scams. You receive an email asking you to visit a web portal and register, and then you will be asked for your debit visa card details, often including all of the security information such as your billing address and Card Security Code (CSC) number. Once you have handed this over, you may as well have written the perpetrator of the fraud a blank cheque.
Ironically, the message in most of these emails is usually something saying that there has recently been an increase in identity theft and online fraud against debit visa card holders and they require your debit visa details in order to make sure you are who you say you are, in an effort to tighten their online security.
If you ever receive an email which sounds similar to this, you should simply delete it, or, if you are feeling particularly proactive, email it to the customer service department of your bank. Never ever click on the link and hand over your card details.
No financial institution will ever ask you to enter all of your debit visa card information by email.
Beware Of Websites With Inadequate Security
If you have purchased something from a website with inadequate security it is possible that the websites customer information database could be infiltrated and your identity stolen. This would mean that someone would be able to use your saved customer information, which would include any card details you may have on file with them, to make purchases on the site.
If your card has been stolen, and the thief is in possession of your pin code, it is still possible to minimize the damage. Report the loss of your card to your bank as soon as you realize it is gone, and although it can be quite a long and drawn out process, you may be able to recoup whatever losses you have incurred. If your identity and bank details are stolen online, the consequences can be absolutely horrendous, and have very serious consequences.