Hyderabad woman falls victim to ₹2.29 lakh credit card fraud—learn how to stay safe from rising scams in India

A 53-year-old Hyderabad woman lost ₹2.29 lakh recently to a credit card scam. This isolated incident is just a pointer to increasing credit card frauds in India and an alert to credit card users to stay careful.

How did the scam unfold?

The victim received a call from someone posing as the head of customer service at Union Bank of India (UBI). The caller claimed that she was eligible for a credit card upgrade with a ₹5 lakh limit.

Trusting the caller, she shared sensitive information, including pictures of her credit card and the One-Time Password (OTP), over WhatsApp.

Shortly after, another person claiming to be a UBI customer care executive informed her that a virtual credit card had been generated in her name, and transactions totalling ₹2,29,180 had been made. Post the same, it was only after cross-verifying the calls that she realised she had fallen victim to a scam.

This incident clearly shows the significance of keeping your sensitive information secret and not sharing OTPs, card images, PINs, credit card CVV details etc, with anyone. No bank ever requests for such information.

Valuable credit card user lessons

• Never provide sensitive details: Genuine banks and their officials will never demand your credit card numbers or passwords through phone calls or messaging applications. Always authenticate the caller's identity and never share personal details casually.
• Monitor transactions on a regular basis: Review your bank statements and online banking pages from time to time for any suspicious transactions. Identification of these anomalies at the right time can minimise losses.
• Use good security practices: Set up transaction notifications with your bank so that you get instant alerts for all and any transaction executed using your credit card. This can alert you to suspicious transactions in real time.
• Avoid phishing: Never follow dubious links or give personal details to spam. Make sure the site is secure (check for HTTPS) before entering sensitive data.
• Report suspicious transaction immediately: If there is any suspicious transaction, report the problem to your bank immediately and take measures like freezing your account.

These are some of the steps necessary for protection of personal money, your credit score and your over all credit identity as credit card frauds are on the rise in India because of mass usage of the internet.

The credit card users hence need to be cautious, continuously reading and building knowledge along with staying vigilant in order to guard themselves against such frauds.