Don’t have a credit card? Scammers don’t care—How to safeguard yourself against scam | Mint

An IT professional who had never held a credit card lost ₹98,264. Owing to her employer’s policy, she was inadvertently issued a credit card because she had a payroll account with a private bank, reported BangaloreMirror.

About the case

The scammer called her on January 15 from an unknown number, impersonating a bank official. She feigned that she urgently needed to activate the credit card within two minutes. The frightened woman received the instructions without questioning the authenticity of her call.

Pretending to be verifying her identity, the scammer forced her to download an app by sending her a fake link. As she complied with his demands, the call was promptly disconnected. In just a matter of minutes, she received SMS notification of multiple unauthorized transactions totalling nearly ₹1 lakh after that.

Understanding credit card scams

The complexity of credit card scams is on the rise, with scammers adopting various tactics to obtain personal information and execute offenses. Scammers utilize the credit card information to make unauthorized purchases, withdraw funds, or even open new accounts in another person’s name. This is called credit card fraud. Such scams can happen in physical locations, such as stores and ATMs; online; or over the telephone.

In conclusion, this case illustrates how swindlers may prey on the unsuspecting who rarely use credit cards. It is becoming increasingly critical to remain aware and vigilant as the unscrupulous take advantage of anxiety, urgency, and ignorance to perpetrate their crimes.