Sharp rise in credit card fraud in city

In Mumbai there has been a rise in cases of credit cards being used fraudulently on the internet, said the cyber crime police.

There has been a rise in cases of credit cards being used fraudulently on the internet, said the cyber crime police. According to cyber crime statistics, a total of 20 cases of credit card fraud have been reported in the current year till August 15. There were nine cases registered during the same period last year.

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Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said, "The number of people who shop online has gone up. So, there is always a risk of giving your card details to some unsecured website where it could be misused."

Cyber experts said those making purchases online do not use security features, which are available at a nominal fee. "There are several internet security providers that allow you to feed in your credit card details just once after which they give you a reference number. Therefore, every time you make a purchase, all you need to do is to provide the reference number along with the amount, and the payment is made without giving out your credit card details," said an officer from the cyber police.

The officer added that even if the website is not secure, these features reduce the chances of your credit card details being misused.

Cyber expert Vicky Shah, however, said using these payment gateways is not a foolproof solution because they can be hacked.

Cyber expert Vijay Mukhi said, "One can have a two-level security password while making online payments. In this case, you can ensure that when you pay online, there is an additional password generated apart from your original password, which is sent to you that very moment."

Senior inspector N More of cyber police station said some accused pose as bank agents and make way with credit card details of victims. In certain cases, the accused have sent emails containing a virus that would relay the victims’ card details to them.