The post Going by the card appeared first on FWD Life | The Premium Lifestyle Magazine |.
]]>
Credit card is like fire. If you use it casually, you will court trouble. Use it with caution it will help you and avoid getting trapped. We take a lot precautions and due diligence before buying property and marriage. The same level of precautions needs to be put in place if you are using credit for transactions online and offline. Like amoeba, fraudsters are assuming new forms and setting newer traps to lure credit card users. Credit card companies and banks have put in lot of firewalls to stop the cyber criminals, but fraudsters continue to face chinks in the amour.
Credit card users need to give two passwords or CVVs for online transactions. First is the CVV (three digit number on the reverse side of the card) and the second is the secured access password via Verified by Visa and Master secure code, depending on your card service provider. If the website does not ask for authentication, avoid the transaction. Avoid using credit cards online! A virtual credit card is a better alternative. A virtual card is a new 16-digit number, generated on the basis of your physical credit cards with individual CVV2 number, password and expiry date. You will need to specify the amount you want to spend with your virtual card. This ensures your physical credit care is not accessible to criminals.
Use a chip-and-PIN-based card for offline transactions like payment in restaurant. This card has a SIM-card like chip on the front of the card and can be used only with a four digit PIN. Unless you punch the PIN into the card-reading machine, the transaction won’t happen. On such cards, the account information is stored in an encrypted format, which prevents the data from being stolen. If you are using credit card with magnetic stripe, immediately switch to chip-based card.
Ensure that you blacken the CVV number on the card with a permanent ink marker. Note down the number in your diary or your mind.
Use card for offline transaction only in reputed places. Avoid using cards in hole-in-the wall shops and low-grade restaurants. Skimmers, the devices to for stealing card data, are cheap and easy to be put in place.
Most often, fraudsters steal card details by persuading web users to give them away voluntarily. No matter how secure the site is, be careful before you swipe.
– Use the card only on websites, which have “https” as starting web address and not http. Here “s” stands for “secured”.
– For eg: https://www.amazon.com. Also look for a lock sign on the left side of the address bar. It will also have a tab saying sign in using our secure server. But trust a site just because it claims to be secure.
– Do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.
– Try to get a physical address rather than simply a post office box and a telephone number, and call the seller to see if the telephone number is correct and working. It is easy to set up website.
– Avoid using credit cards on websites dealing with pornography and movie clips. Most of them are dubious. They may be asking for measly and tempting sums like $1.
– If you are regular visitor to such sites, make sure you delete the web page history and cookies.
– Send an e-mail to the seller to make sure the e-mail address is active, and be wary of mails coming from gmail or hotmail or yahoo.
– If the seller or service provider is genuine, they will have own mail with own domain name. Say like cs@flipkart.com.
The post Going by the card appeared first on FWD Life | The Premium Lifestyle Magazine |.
]]>