CREDIT CARD FRAUD - Recent Real story

This is a real story from Bangalore,India. Person who was a victim works for WIPRO deputed in CISCO, Marathahalli, Bangalore.

Now, to this E-mail sent by her, for safety reasons here we are not divulging her name.
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Last weekend I was a victim of a Credit Card Fraud.

Luckily for me I had activated the option of receiving email notifications each time the credit limit on my card crossed a certain value or percentage(eg: 25%, 50%, etc)

On Monday (June 23rd) I saw one such notification saying that the transactions on my card had crossed the credit limit. Since I had not swiped my card for any such high value transactions, I checked with my bank and found that my card was used to make some 10-12 online transactions by some unscrupulous persons to the tune of 1.2 Lakhs!

I found from my bank that someone had used my card during the weekend(Sat June 21st and Sun Jun 22nd) to buy Air Line Tickets, when the card was very much with me during the weekend. Myself and my husband and some friends immediately swung into action and contacted each of the 5 respective Air Lines to find out that all the flights had been taken in the weekend and some 30-40 people had happily traveled all overIndia(Kolkatta, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Indore etc etc) on my credit card. Luckily for us, one flight from Kolkatta was arriving to Bangalore on Monday (June 23rd).

I went to one police station, to lodge an FIR but they directed us to Airport Police.(FIR has to be launched from the location where the crime has been committed, since this is online, they were not sure ..we also did not have too much time, since the flight was landing on the same day itself.).

We requested the Airlines to allow the passengers to travel to Banagalore and drove down to the Devanahalli Airport. Along with the Airport Police we were able to nab 4 people (1 guy managed to escape) who traveled with my credit card. Then we brought them to the city police station at 10 in the night and they were questioned (I guess you all know how). After 1.5 days tension, explanations, requests,influences, blames and threats we were able to finally lodge an FIR.This has been submitted to the bank for further investigation for 45 days. Hopefully, I do not have to pay the 1.2 lakhs( I just hope).

On questioning, the arrested guys said that they had no clue about any credit card and had paid an agent to arrange for tickets and deliver them home. 1 guy spilt the beans about a local agent in Bangalore who used the Credit Card details to buy these tickets online. Still the case is under investigation as it is looks like a huge chain.

But the question is How Did This Agent Get The Card Details when I have'nt transacted ever with this agent???

Online Air ticket booking does not need any verification, like other transactions. We just need to give the card number, CVV number and Expiry date of the card.

I recalled having used the card in the previous week for Shopping at two malls and at a Restaurant. We give out our card to the waiter/cashier and all he has to do is to memorize your 3 digit CVV number. At one suchplace when I gave my card to be swiped, the CVV # (which is a last 3digit # found on the back of the card) was noted down/memorised by the cashier / waiter/God knows who. The card # and expiry date of the card anyways shows up on the transaction slip.

I heard form some people that the CVV #, Expiry Date and Card # is sold to Credit Card Fraudsters for as low as Rs. 100/- to 200/-!! (Can you believe it!!!!)

Some Steps to Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud

• Check you Credit Card Statements regularly
• Check with your bank if you have an option to receive email /SMS notifications for High Value Transactions. If available, activate the same.Look at the back of your card and see if the CVV # is mentioned. If yes,note it elsewhere and Score it off with a permanent marker from yourcard
• Sign your cards as soon as they arrive.
• Carry your cards separately from your wallet, in a zippered compartment, a business card holder, or another small pouch.
• Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates,and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place.
• Keep an eye on your card during the transaction, and get it back as quickly as possible. In restaurants, we send the card in the folder with the waiter. And finally when you are thinking of how to save for the flight tickets for your next vacation with the family, someone else is happily flying places on your card. And then finally you end up paying for someone else's vacation, and cancel yours.
• DON'T Sign a blank receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total.

Although credit card fraud is certainly on the rise -- and credit card fraud on the Internet is rising even more dramatically -- many savvyInternet shoppers know that the reality is that it's actually much safer to enter your credit card number on a secure online order form than it is to give your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant.

After all, what's to stop the waiter from writing down your credit card number and then selling the details for a mere 200/-.

If you think that this happens to others, its NOT true. YOU May be the next victim!

Hence, removing the CVV number from your card is much better than going through this mess, risks and tensions. I hope you learn from my experience rather than wait to experience it yourself. The pain offeeling cheated and then the risks and tension involved is really horrible.

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Please be careful and prudent in using your credit cards. To minimize the risks, always go for Credit Cards having manageable minimal amount definitely not in lakhs.

NOTE : This e-mail is posted as is received from the sender, no addition, deletion been done to the content.