Indian Credit Card providers now offer some of the best Credit Cards, boasting incredible perks and benefits. You can find all kinds of lifestyle-focused cards that help you save thousands of rupees on annual transactions. But as more and more digital means of transactions are becoming seamless, so are the digital frauds being perpetrated.
Every day, you hear stories about people who lost lakhs, if not crores of rupees due to digital thefts. To ensure you do not fall prey to such fraudulent transactions, you must take the necessary measures to keep your Credit Cards safe. Let’s find out what you can do to ensure your card’s safety.
10 Practical Tips to Safeguard Your Credit Card Against Fraudulent Practices
Your Credit Card is as susceptible to fraud as the measures you employ to safeguard it, or those you avoid taking. By following these ten simple practices outlined below, you can ensure your Credit Card remains safe from fraudulent transactions.
1. Set strong passwords
You may have heard it a 100 times, but hear it again – you must set strong passwords. Your password cannot be your name, birth date, or anything that’s easy to guess. A strong password combines capital and small letters, numbers, and special characters. You should also change it frequently.
2. Use Secure Websites
Using Credit Card when shopping online is common, but before entering your card details, you must first check whether the website is secure. A secure website is one where the URL starts with HTTPS and has the padlock icon. Any other link can be suspicious and lead you into a phishing trap.
3. Enable Tokenisation
Tokenisation is essentially a process through which you can replace the card number embossed on your physical Credit Card, with a unique digital token. By enabling tokenisation on your online shopping apps, you can prevent merchants from storing or transmitting your real card’s details.
4. Cover Your CVV
Covering your 3-digit CVV code with a sticker or an opaque tape also keeps your Credit Card safe from fraud. It stops anyone physically handling your card from noting down the code. The covered CVV prevents unauthorised online transactions as most websites demand it to verify purchases.
5. Turn Off Cash Withdrawals
While Credit Cards offer cash withdrawal facilities, they entail significant charges on such transactions. If you lose your card, a fraudster can leverage it and withdraw cash. It is thus best to enable cash withdrawals only when you need to withdraw cash and disable it on the app soon after.
6. Enable Real-Time Alerts for Transactions
Once you get your Credit Card, you must immediately activate SMS, app, and email notifications for each and every transaction. Enabling alerts allows you to confirm authorised transactions, spot the unauthorised ones, and report any fraudulent charges before the issue escalates.
7. Avoid Making Payments via Public Wi-Fi
A simple rule to safeguard your Credit Card is to avoid logging into your banking apps or conduct transactions using the free Wi-Fi facilities offered at restaurants, airports, cafes, etc. As hackers can easily intercept such unsecured connections, it is best to stick to your trusted private networks.
8. Use Virtual Cards for Online Payments
Most banks today provide virtual Credit Cards that you can use for e-commerce purchases. These cards are less risky to use as they are disposable, with the card number expiring after a short period. If you are someone who loves shopping online, this simple tactic can prove incredibly helpful.
9. Disable International Usage
When travelling abroad, you need to enable international usage to pay for your purchases. Once you’re home, you must immediately switch off international transactions. This is because Credit Card frauds can also originate from overseas servers where OTP-based protections are typically bypassed.
10. Set Transaction Limits
Your bank’s mobile app allows you to set daily limits or caps on every kind of payment, be it online, in-store, or contactless transactions. Based on your spending habits and needs, you can easily set and modify these limits through the app to reduce your exposure, in case your card is compromised.
Final Word: Securing your Credit Card from fraudulent practices is in your hands. You can get the best Credit Cards with the most incredible rewards and benefits, but it is pointless if you don’t set the right, strong passwords or shop on secure websites. It also helps to set transaction limits, disable unnecessary transactions, and be aware of new banking and phishing scams that pop up every day. As such, you must ensure you keep up with the news and follow all the necessary steps to safeguard your card from fraud.
