Living in a fast-paced era, a credit card has become the most indispensable asset of life today. Whether you want to buy a grocery or shop for an occasion in Dubai, payments are easy through a credit card that also perquisites you with various cashback offers. The credit cards never bother you denting your bank balance every time you shop instead you can pay later for purchases. It avails you an instant line of short-term credit while making transactions.
Over the years the credit card usage has grown rapidly in UAE. With a credit card, all you desire to buy is just one click away from your home. But as everything has pros and cons associated with it so it is with credit cards too. The credit card also carries the risk of being targeted for fraud. If you are using your credit card digitally, then it is really important for you to know about online credit card-related frauds. You can never know who is going to target you as prey to forge your credit card number. The fraudsters significantly can do enough damage to you through your credit card even before you come to know about it. To protect yourself from such frauds, prominently you should know about credit card fraud.
What is a Credit Card Fraud?
Credit card fraud is a criminal offense done when the personal credentials of some other persons are used intentionally without repaying the debts. It is a kind of identity theft where the credit card fraudster uses the credit in a misappropriate manner leaving unpaid debts in the name of the credit cardholder. There are many examples from this year with many losses that happened through credit card frauds. According to business news sources, a large number of residents of the UAE have been hit by credit card fraud.
*Types of Credit Card Fraud:
Here are the five types of frauds that you should be aware of in the UAE:
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Email:
You may be receiving several unimportant or apparent mails in your email alluring you with fake perks. An email has become the easiest platform in fraud today. For example, you receive a purported mail in your inbox from any bank with an alarming alert that your credit card is going to be out of service and your bank account will be frozen due to security reasons.
*To Do– This type of fraud is very common and what you have to do is just delete it because the banks never send such emails. Instead to ensure you can either call your bank or visit the branch for accurate details.
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Mobile phone Fraud:
Mobile has become the mini handy world to us, from calling, chatting to e-shopping and mail-checking everything is being done on phone. As many new features are being available on phone so are the threat of cyber frauds. Phone fraud also called voice phishing is when a fraudster calls you claiming to be an employee of your bank and asks for personal Emirates ID-related information and OTPs sent on your phone under the cover of the security process. They take you under confidence by their gleaning and official way of respond. Consequently, being unversed about the same, you may fill your credentials that may lead you to be a victim of cyber theft.
*To Do– Do not reveal any of your personal information and hang up the phone immediately. Notably, such details are never taken on the phone by any bank in UAE.
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Stolen Credit Card:
You would be lucky enough that if your stolen credit card is handed over back to you but if it is not then it is a definite thing to worry about. Stolen credit card is a white-collar fraud in Dubai. The fraudster can use your stolen card in purchasing things without your consent or coming to your notice. You do not even come to the notice that your card has been stolen.
*To Do– When you find your card is stolen immediately call your credit card company to block your card.
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Filling application fraud:
The fraudster impersonates a customer by using their stolen or counterfeited documents to obtain a credit card. The fraudster uses a false paper trail while using a credit card posing that he is the credit cardholder. Such application frauds take place while you process any application. The fraudster can forge your personal information including name, number, bank statements, utility bills, etc to open a new account in your name.
*To Do– Do not miss keeping a track of all your important documents, never share such details without investigating the matter.
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Card Skimming Fraud:
Credit card skimming fraud or counterfeit fraud is another identity theft where the details are forged by the fraudster to create a new counterfeit credit card. Here Skimming means when your credit card skimmer is attached to an ATM, the details obtained via card skimming are used in creating counterfeit cards.
*To Do– Always keep your credit card properly within the confines of your wallet, if you learned any fraud or tampering happening with your ATM then immediately report it to your bank or the police.
But have you ever realized why do fraudulent transactions take place in UAE?
A survey was done by the Payment Systems Company ACI Worldwide last year says that 27 percent of netizens of the UAE have been the victim of credit card fraud in the last eight years. The percentage has been soared high each year. While as per the statics of the Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) and Visa, 37 percent of credit card fraud victims do not recover money lost in fraudulent transactions.
Electronic payment frauds are on the rise in UAE and almost all complaints are related to credit card transactions, according to the sources. On the other side, the banks are also imposing strict security measures which are to be taken care of by the credit card users.
For the unversed, sometimes the frauds happen because of the carelessness of handling your cards, and this advantage is immediately grabbed by the fraudsters with their sophistication. One of the reasons for the increase in instances of credit card thefts is the unselective issuance of cards by banks too. Credit card fraud is a theft that keeps on evolving over time if you would not be alert.
In 2019, the UAE Banks Federation in collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE and Abu Dhabi Police Forces launched a national fraud awareness campaign on a wide scale. The campaign was aimed to aware of the people turning to digital banking about the rising frauds taking place online. The awareness aimed to educate the consumers about the UAE’s most common cyber-crimes and the proliferation of phishing fraud techniques.
How to safeguard from getting trapped in credit card fraud?
These are the safeguards you should follow to protect yourself from credit card fraud.
– Avoid believing on suspicious websites:
Always remember that never enter credit details on any site which is not authorized and has any security issues. To know about the site’s accuracy, you should check the customer reviews which is available online and the star rating which can give you an idea about the trustworthiness of a website.
– Keep check of credit report:
Do a free check on your credit report periodically, so this will help you in identifying the fraudster who would be trying to apply for credit in your name. You can then immediately investigate the activity by reaching out to the cyber police in UAE. Also, keep a review of your monthly statements.
-Be dubious of apparent emails and messages:
As phishing is something which is becoming common fraud where phishers plan to entangle you in fake email or text web showing that real, so do not hesitate to avoid and delete it. Again, notably, such important transactional or credit card detail is never taken on mail or phone.
-Ensure hiding personal credentials and block card when lost:
Also, whenever you use ATM ensure that the PIN you enter must be covered by others. Meanwhile, check any kind of tampering and damage signs in the ATM. And if you lost your credit card, take the first step, and block it instantly.
– Report Phone scams to Aman Service
When any phone scam happens in UAE, report it to the Aman Service, an initiative started by the Abu Dhabi Police. You can call on the toll-free number 800-2626 or can email them at aman@adpolice.gov.ae.
– Complain your scam report on 901
You can also file a complaint on 901, a toll-free number of the Department of Criminal Investigation as this will help you in filing the scam report to Dubai Police.
– Destroy your redundant copies of credit card receipt:
Do not throw away the redundant copies of credit card receipt just crushing them away instead, destroy it.