Cases go up from 382 between January and November last year to 546 cases for the same period
Mumbai city has seen a whopping 43 per cent rise in cases of debit/credit card fraud as compared to last year. While as many as 546 cases of credit/debit card fraud were registered in Mumbai from January till November this year, 382 cases were registered last year during the same period.
Experts say that the increase was reportedly due to demonetisation as a huge number of citizens went for cashless transactions after November last year.
While, debit/credit card fraud cases are on the rise, the detection of these cases have come down. According to Mumbai police's statistics, while 50 people were arrested in these cases from January till November last year, this year, 35 people were arrested during the same period.
"An increased number of citizens have gone for cashless transactions following demonetisation last year and hence the instances of debit and credit card frauds have increased. There are various modus operandis that cyber-fraudsters use to dupe citizens.
The most common of them is where debit cards of users are being cloned using skimming devices," said a senior Mumbai police officer.
Speaking about what precautions one can take to ensure they are not duped, the officer said, "One must not share his/her card number, CVV number and expiry date of a card. In case of suspicious transactions, one should immediately notify the bank.
Also, please beware while swiping your cards at restaurants and bars; do not share your PIN with the waiters and enter the PIN for the card yourself in the swiping machine."
"Around three years ago my credit card was cloned and the bank refused to file a case in this regard. The numbers revealed in the police statistics are actually very low than what it should be. Such massive frauds are not possible without the connivance of bank officials. It is highly possible that bank officials give customers' debit card/credit card data and client phone numbers to the cyber-frauds, which they use for their benefit," said cyber expert Vijay Mukhi.
In a bid to increase the detection and conviction rate of cyber crimes in the city, Mumbai police have set up specialised cyber crime investigation units at each police station in Mumbai. "The policemen working in these cyber-units are well trained and the main aim for setting up these units is to take the burden off the Cyber-Crime police station," said another police officer.
HOW TO STAY SAFE?
- Do not share your card number, CVV, and expiry date
- Notify the bank immediately about suspicious transactions
- Do not share PIN with waiters at bars and restaurants
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