It’s Friday afternoon and you are looking forward to an effortless evening of movies and take-aways. You drop in at the closest pizza place on your way home. In your rush to silence your growling stomach, you forgot to draw cash. The closest ATM is 5 kilometres away, but at least you have a credit card.
Paying is no problem and the transaction is safe. You can see the card machine the shop assistant uses and you discreetly type in your PIN number. Besides, card cloning only takes place when someone takes your card out of sight. So they say.
But did you notice that the machine swallowed a little bit more of your card than other times. Usually you can still fit your thumb on the card while you complete the transaction, but now it’s hardly visible.
Coincidence. Actually no. Your card was just skimmed.
Last year R450 million was lost to credit card scams, 23% more than in 2013. The increase was particularly sharp at take-away outlets. But even handheld devices in restaurants can be tampered with. Between 2005 and 2015 1377 compromised devices were confiscated.
Card cloning is just one form of credit card fraud. When you use your card on the internet, whether it’s for banking or online shopping, there’s always some risk involved.
According to Kaspersky Lab, one of the leaders in internet security, 5000 websites are compromised daily. Malware and phishing through e-mails are still one of the biggest problems at Stellenbosch University.
How do you avoid becoming a victim?
Keep an eye on your card at all times.
- Place your credit card in the machine yourself so you can feel if it goes in easily. With a chip card, you should still be able to comfortably fit your thumb on the card, even when it’s in the machine.
- Never send your banking details with e-mail.
- Also never click on a link asking these details – even if it looks like you bank’s branding.
- Install spam blocking software to eliminate phishing e-mails.
- Ensure that your antivirus software is up to date and regularly updated.
- When you purchase online with your credit card, only use official, safe websites. Even then, see if the address starts with “https:”, otherwise it’s not secure.
- Don’t use public wi-fi for any personal transactions or purchases. (read more here)
[SOURCE: www.mybroadband.co.za]
Tags: phishing