Has Your Credit or Debit Card Been Hacked? Take These Steps Immediately

With increasing use of credit cards and debit cards, there has been an increase in credit/debit card fraud as well. Depending on the extent of the fraud, you could lose a few hundreds or even crores! Such frauds can be dangerous financial crimes and you should be aware of how to report such crimes if you have been an unfortunate victim of one. Here’s a guide on what you should do if your card has been hacked:

Call/Email Your Bank

If you notice an authorized charge on your card statement, find it missing, or feel like your card details may have been compromised, immediately call your bank and report the incident. Most banks in India have 24/7 toll-free numbers available that you can contact for emergency situations just like this. Some banks even have city-wise toll-free numbers.
If you have also sent an email to your bank, you may receive a reference number that you have to save for all future communications regarding the incident. You can even ‘save’ the email and request for alerts upon receiving a response from the bank.
Once you inform the bank, they will block your card immediately preventing any future transactions. This would mean that even you can’t continue using your card.

You May Need to File a Police Report

If your card was stolen, then the bank in most cases will ask you to file a police complaint and provide a copy of the same to the bank. Say, you were walking in a park and a robber steals your purse/bag that had your wallet with all your cards in them, then you will have to file a police report at the station which has jurisdiction over the area in which the park is located.

Assist the Bank in Investigation

In case there was any monetary loss on account of fraudulent transactions carried out on your card before it was blocked, your bank may decide to launch an investigation. The investigation may require your inputs and assistance regarding your whereabouts when the card went missing, whom you communicated with, or any other inputs from your end that will help them get to the bottom of the investigation in the hopes of recovering the loss incurred.

Check if Your Card Has Zero Liability

Many banks offer a feature on their credit cards called ‘zero liability on lost card’ (or something similar). This feature prevents you from bearing any liability on fraudulent transactions that may occur on your card after you have informed the bank of the loss/theft of your card. However, remember that any unauthorized transactions carried out before you inform the bank will still be charged to you.

Wait for Replacement Card to Use Card Again

Once you have reported the incident to the bank, they will immediately block your card. However, in the event that it has not been done and you’re still in possession of the card (you reported it missing but found later, card details have been compromised), then do not continue using it. Cut the card into pieces and return it to the bank.
Once the bank blocks your card, they will give you a replacement card with fresh details. The card and the features will be exactly the same as your lost/stolen card, but the details such as the number, CVV, etc. will be different. In most cases you don’t have to wait very long to get your replacement card, banks mail it immediately and you may receive it within a few days.

How to Prevent Your Card from Being Hacked

With the increasing number of debit/credit card fraud, there is also increasing awareness on how such frauds occur and what you can do to prevent them from happening to you. Here are a few tips on how to prevent your card from being hacked:

• Only shop from secure online shopping websites

If you’re shopping online and using your card to make the payment, you should first make sure that the website you’re shopping from is secure. The easiest way to make sure of this is to check the URL of the site – if it starts with “https://” and NOT “http://”, then it is safe because the ‘s’ here stands for “secure”. If possible, do not save your card details on any website. If your account gets hacked, then even your card details will be compromised.

• Do not respond to messages/emails from unknown numbers and addresses

If you get a message or an email telling you that you have won a lottery (that you never registered for) of X amount (usually a significant amount) and all you have to do to claim the prize is send over your bank account details/card details, then this is a scam. Do not respond to such intimations, you could even report such incidents to the police. Sometimes, the message may even say that it is a prize from a website that you frequently shop from, in such cases, you could contact the customer service of the website and they will take the matter forward.

• Check your statements thoroughly

When you get your monthly statement, check it thoroughly to make sure you have made all the said transactions. Fraudsters may not always make large transactions when they get a hold of your card details. Sometimes they start making small transactions to stay undetected for a longer period of time. Hence, check your statement carefully and report any unsuspected transaction to your bank immediately.

• Dispose physical credit/debit card statements carefully

If you receive your credit or debit card statements via post, then once you’re done going through them, do not simply toss it in the bin. It is advisable to shred it/tear it before you throw it out. This is because the statement will contain sensitive information regarding your card such as the full card number, expiration date, and so on.

• Keep your card close to you

Perhaps the most obvious way to keep your card safe is to keep it close to you and on your person at all times, especially when you’re out in crowded places. When you hand it over to pay for your purchase or stick your card in an ATM machine, make sure there is no “skimming device” present. A skimming device captures your card information when swiped and fraudsters sell this captured information to make a handsome buck.
Now you know what you need to do to prevent your card from being hacked and in the misfortune event that it is hacked, you know how to report it and stay safe in the future. Credit and debit cards are convenient ways of making payments, if we handle them carefully.