How to Protect Money from Bank Card Fraud

Almost everyone uses bank cards. Having regular payments:

• salary,
• pension,
• transfers,
• scholarships and other monetary procedures.

Everyone tries to protect their finances from fraudsters. Although for fraudsters, transactions with bank cards are the easiest and fastest way to make money.

Card Fraud

Fraudsters often use phishing on the internet - this modern term refers to a method of deception in which a person's logins, password, and bank card information are stolen. For a fraudster to obtain bank card information, it is enough to use websites on the internet. These sites are created as clones of well-known payment platforms, often allowing operations such as transferring money from card to card, topping up mobile phones, paying utility bills, or conducting other banking operations.

On such sites, the transaction does not achieve its intended result, does not reach its destination, and the amounts are credited to the fraudster's account. Thus, having the information, the withdrawal can occur at any moment.

How Money is Stolen from Cards

Fraudsters make calls to cardholders, posing as the bank's security service and ask them to provide card details, its data, password, CVV code, the amount on the card, allegedly to unblock the payment. Also, fraudsters sometimes insist on making a small payment, supposedly to check if the account is active and has any funds.

Fraudsters constantly use SMS mailing, sending victims SMS messages stating that the card is blocked and that they need to contact a certain phone number to regain access.

Protection Against Bank Card Fraud

There are basic rules that work against fraudsters to protect your banking information:

• do not disclose card details;
• banking codes and passwords;
• if there are questions about the bank card, contact only bank representatives via the hotline independently;
• when seeking help or conducting banking operations online, use only trusted websites;
• do not use suspicious links sent by fraudsters;
• the best option for making payments online is to use an additional card that is either topped up with the payment amount or receives small transfers.

Card Skimming

Card skimming is a special device that fraudsters attach to a legitimate card reading device, such as an ATM.

For this method to work and for fraudsters to use the card and withdraw funds after recording the data, they need to know the PIN code. To prevent this from happening, cover the ATM's keypad when entering the PIN code. Lack of PIN code information makes it much harder for fraudsters and prevents them from using skimming.

Skimming is essentially the cloning of a bank card, carried out using special equipment with a magnetic head, similar to a tape recorder head, which easily records information from the card's magnetic strip. Typically, fraudsters install such a device near the card reader when a person uses an ATM and the card is inside, at which point such a overlay records the card data. Additionally, fraudsters install miniature video cameras aimed at the keypad, allowing them to capture the card's PIN code. If a fraudster has complete card information and a PIN, they can easily drain the victim's funds.

Card Data Theft

To steal bank card data, a fraudster only needs to use some well-known methods:

• reading cards using skimming,
• phishing for banking details and passwords,
• phishing and vishing.

By acting deceptively, they pose as employees of banking structures. Fraudsters easily gain the trust of the bank card owner if possible. Such schemes are designed for the panic state of people when they are informed about the card being blocked, trying to protect their money, the person acts rashly and may disclose secret card information. It should be remembered that bank employees never ask for information about passwords, CVV codes.

Secure Card Payments

To secure your payments, you need to follow some rules, for example:

• do not perform card operations from computers or gadgets with public access or wi-fi;
• use only official websites or use your own banking for payments;
• constantly updating antivirus programs or operating systems will protect against fraudsters;
• to make a payment online, a PIN code is not required, it is enough to enter the card number, expiration date, CVV code, and if necessary, a one-time password sent via SMS.