Debit card fraud in Mangaluru gets high

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, July 16,2015 : It is reported a lady who was out of the city when she received a message from her bank regarding debit card transactions. The text said her card was used at  POS  - point of sale terminals.  She was shocked because she had not used the card for more than three months and it was only in her custody.

 
By the time the lady a doctor realized the consequences, she had lost Rs 43,000 in 45 minutes, between 10pm and 10.45 pm.

The lady’s  case is one among rising complaints involving debit card frauds in the city. Police say skimming at a POS terminal could be one of the reasons.

 

It is sated that it’s not possible for such transactions to happen unless the card holder has unwittingly given information to some fraudster or shared card details online. In case they have not shared card details, it can happen through skimming at POS swipe terminals. 

Assistant commissioner of police said such frauds can be traced. A transaction takes place at a POS terminal, police can follow the trail; or if it is transferred to a bank, the account can be followed.  Online transactions are hard to trace and need multi-agency coordination.

While police are investigating cases below Rs 1 lakh, the frauds above the amount are being handed over to the CID’s cyber cell.

Investigating officers say skimming is the reason in many of the reported cases since the cards have magnetic stripes instead of EMV chips. EMV cards, also called chip cards or IC cards, store data on integrated circuits rather than magnetic stripes; they are highly secure and process data with unparalleled security when used along with PIN, and it is virtually impossible to copy or tamper with. It also protects cards against counterfeiting and skimming.