Chandigarh man falls prey to ₹9 lakh credit card scam — 5 crucial lessons to avert fraud and secure your money

India is going through an epic credit card boom. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently stated that the credit surge in the country has more than doubled in the last five years. The total number of credit cards has crossed 10.80 crore by January 2025. This number was around 5.53 crore in December 2019-20, as detailed in a report by Press Trust of India.

Now, this boom has also resulted in an increase in credit card scams. For instance, a Chandigarh resident recently was tricked by scamsters into a well-planned and sophisticated credit card scam. The incident leaves behind important lessons for all credit card users to always keep in mind to protect themselves, their peace of mind and finances.

How was the credit card scam planned and executed?
 

A resident of Chandigarh, Sector 31, T Rajesh Kumar, randomly received a call from a person posing and promoting himself as a representative from Punjab National Bank (PNB). The caller told Rajesh that his name was Ajay Tripathi. He further offered his assistance and support to Rajesh with the assurance that he would help him secure a new credit card.

The call was designed to look like a simple promotional call users generally receive daily from various financial institutions. Kumar took the call casually, considering it to be legitimate and agreed to continue with the conversation through WhatsApp for more details as per the instructions of the caller.

Then, during another subsequent video interaction, the scammer requested Kumar to provide him with personal information for identification and cross-verification. He again assured Kumar that this was part of the standard process.

Now, trusting the caller's words and directions, Kumar shared personal information and even displayed his wife’s Axis Bank and American Express credit cards. Post the completion of the call, he received a link purportedly to finish the application process and submit the details.

Stunning financial loss

Unfortunately, clicking on the link provided by the caller led to unauthorised transactions. The total transactions amounted to about ₹8.69 lakh on Kumar’s American Express card and ₹60,000 on his Axis Bank credit card.

Even after promptly blocking the cards and reaching out to bank officials, significant financial damage was already done. The fraudulent transactions were too much for Kumar and his family to bear. The scamster reached out to Kumar again the following day to let him know about more transactions and even hacked into his Amazon account.

Rising trend of credit card scams

This particular incident is part of a worrying trend in the country, where fraud cases have surged immensely. On similar lines, according to a report, another incident of credit card fraud took place recently in Ahmedabad's Anandnagar, where a resident, Soumya Jain, lost about ₹50,000 to a similar credit card scam. The cybercrime unit has been informed about the incident, and they are looking into it.

How to keep yourself safe and protected from fraud?

Now, to safeguard themselves against such credit card frauds, card users should adopt several preventive measures:

• Verify caller identity: Always confirm the identity of anyone requesting personal information. Remember, banks never reach out to customers individually for personal information such as credit card details or CVVs.
• Completely avoid sharing sensitive information: Never disclose or discuss your credit card details over calls or video chats with anyone. These are credit instruments. If you discuss your personal details, you are putting yourself at risk of financial loss.
• Monitor transactions, read statements regularly: Keep a close eye on your bank statements for any unknown or unauthorised transactions. Report them promptly if you see any unauthorised deduction in your account.
• Use strong passwords and biometrics: Always protect your online accounts with strong passwords, biometrics and enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible to keep your data safe and secure.
• Clear doubts by reaching out to the customer support team: Always visit the official website of your financial institution for clarification on doubts and to obtain the official customer support team number. Further, you should never share CVV, OTP and card details.

As online credit card frauds are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated, staying vigilant is essential for protecting your financial well-being.

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