Credit card scam alert: Man duped of ₹1.8 lakh – Here's how to stay safe

A 48-year-old private employee in Hyderabad fell victim to a well planned credit card scam recently. He lost ₹1.8 lakhs to the scam after being deceived into revealing his credit card details over a WhatsApp video call, according to a recent report by The Hindu.

The scamster impersonated an SBI Credit Card representative and convinced the victim to show his credit card along with CVV number under the posture and guise of verification of basic details.

This particular financial scam incident underlines the increasing sophistication of cyber frauds in India. Further, it is important to note that banking fraud cases in India surged 27% to 18,461 cases in the first half of the financial year 2024-25, in comparison to its previous level of 14,480 cases in the same period in previous year, as per the Reserve Bank of India.

Hence, keeping all these important developments in mind. Here are a few important points you must keep in mind to protect against financial crimes and ensure a healthy and sensible credit card usage experience.

Key safety measures to protect against credit card scams:

• Never share sensitive information: Focus on avoiding disclosure of credit card details, especially CVV numbers and OTPs, over calls or messages. These are confidential by nature and are never requested by any legitimate bank officials.
• Verify caller identity: Carefully counter check and always confirm the authenticity of individuals claiming to be representatives of banks, RBI or SEBI by contacting official customer service numbers and reacting in a sensible manner.
• Report suspicious activity promptly: In case of suspected fraud, immediately notify your bank or financial institution and file a complaint with the cybercrime department at cybercrime.gov.in or call at 1930. You can also file an FIR with your nearest police station and discuss your problems with the concerned officials to get a resolution.
• Continue building knowledge and stay informed: You should regularly update yourself on common scam tactics, basic finance knowledge and stay vigilant against unsolicited communication.

Prominent government financial institutions such as The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is consistently collaborating with the Finance Ministry to implement a centralised Know Your Customer (KYC) system.

The aim of this collaboration is to enhance detection and prevention of financial frauds. Further, RBI is also spreading vigilance through various channels and streamlining banking services by introducing secure domain names for banks and financial institutions to curb phishing attacks.

Focus has also been placed on spreading awareness and financial literacy among credit card users to foster responsible card usage to prevent avoidable banking and credit card frauds.

This is done by advertisements on digital platforms to help users stay informed and updated about the most recent changes in banking regulations to help them in keeping their account information safe.

Hence, as digital transactions become increasingly prevalent, it's imperative for consumers to exercise caution and adopt robust security practices to safeguard against credit card scams and financial frauds.

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