To stay safe in the virtual world, it is important to follow some cyber-safe practices which may help you in making your online experience more productive and secure. Here are 10 steps to ensure your cyber safety and to protect yourselves from falling prey to cyber criminals in a potential online financial fraud in India:
STEP 1: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION DETAILS TO ANYONE
Never disclose your Personal ID details like your net banking password, One Time Password (OTP), ATM or phone banking PIN, CVV Number, expiry date of your debit/credit card, to anyone, even if they claim to be from your bank. Also, never respond to emails asking for these details which seem to have been received from your bank. Please beware that banks or their employees never call or email requesting for your personal ID details.
STEP 2: USE STRONG PASSWORDS AND DO NOT KEEP SAME ID/PASSWORD COMBINATION FOR ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS
Always use strong passwords. Use alphabets in upper and lower case, numbers and special characters while creating a password. Prefer separate email-ids and password combinations for different accounts to prevent anyone from guessing it. Make sure that you also periodically change the passwords of your online banking accounts.
STEP3: ALWAYS USE VIRTUAL KEYBOARDS WHILE LOGGING IN YOUR ONLINE BANKING ACCOUNTS
Always use virtual keyboards while logging into online banking services. This needs to specially taken care of while you’re utilizing a net-banking facility from a public computer/ cyber café or a shared computer or computer network.
STEP 4: DO NOT ACCESS OR MAKE ONLINE BANKING TRANSACTIONS WHEN CONNECTED TO A SHARED HOTSPOT OR PUBLIC WIFI
Never make financial transactions over shared public computers or while using public Wi-Fi networks. These computers might have key-loggers installed which are designed to capture input from keyboards and could enable fraudsters to steal your username and password.[1]
STEP 5: ALWAYS LOG OFF FROM YOUR ONLINE BANK ACCOUNT
Always remember to log off from your online banking portal/website after completing an online transaction with your credit/debit card.
STEP 6: ALWAYS DELETE BROWSING HISTORY FROM YOUR WEB BROWSER
Always delete the browsing data of your web browser (Chrome, Firefox etc.) after completing your online banking activity.
STEP 7: ALWAYS ENSURE THAT THE WEBSITE IS CORRECT AND THE WEB-ADDRESS BAR STARTS WITH “HTPPS”
Always be sure about the correct address of the bank website and look for the “lock” icon on the browser’s status bar while visiting your bank’s website or while conducting an online transaction. Always make sure that “htpps” appears in the website’s address bar before making an online transaction. The “s” here stands for “secure” and indicates that the communication with the webpage is encrypted. Most fake web addresses begin with “http://”. Beware of such websites.
STEP 8: KEEP A TRACK ON YOUR ONLINE TRANSACTIONS PERIODICALLY AND RAISE A REPORT IN CASE YOU FIND ANYTHING MISCHIEVOUS
Login and view your bank account activity regularly to ensure that there are no unexpected transactions. Raise a report to your concerned Bank in case any mischievous transaction has taken place from your account without your knowledge immediately. For this purpose, always keep your bank’s latest customer care number and email id of the concerned authority handy, so that you can report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions on your bank account expeditiously.
STEP 9: BEWARE OF MALICIOUS EMAILS/ TEXT MESSAGES/ PHONE CALLS
- Always register your primary phone number and E-mail id that you use on your smartphone to receive instant SMS/E-mail alerts from your bank regarding any transaction that takes place from your bank account. If your mobile number has stopped working for a longer period, make sure to enquire and check with your mobile network operator that you haven’t fallen prey to any online scam.
- Do not follow any instructions from a suspicious SMS received from an un-trusted source, delete such SMS instantly.
- Do not chat with strangers over the Internet. Fraudsters and scammers are sitting over the net looking for victims.
- Do not click on any suspicious links in your emails.
- Do not reply to emails asking for your bank account details.
- Do not provide any confidential information via emails, even if the request appears to be made by authorities such as the Income Tax Department, Visa or MasterCard etc.
- Do an internet search[2] using the names or exact wording of the email you receive to check for any references to a scam – many scams are reported and can be looked out in this way.
- While talking to a Banking Officer on a Phone call, never share the following details with him/her:
- 4 digit ATM/IVR PIN
- OTP
- Net Banking Password
- CVV (Card Verification Value)
- 16 digit Card Number
- Expiry date of your card
- Name of the person to whom the card belongs.
- Never respond to fake calls related to transfer/unclaimed bonuses regarding your insurance policy.[3]
- Cyber criminals may call your family members posing as hospital staff and may request for money transfer saying that you may have met with an accident and you are in urgent need of money. This could be a spam. Before entertaining any such request, contact your family member to confirm their whereabouts and check the authenticity of the phone call.[4]
STEP 10: HANDLE YOUR DEBIT/CREDIT CARDS VIGILANTLY WHILE MAKING PAYMENTS
- When you receive a New Debit/Credit Card from the Bank:
- Make sure the envelope in which it is contained is not damaged and it is sealed properly. In case, the packaging is tampered, please notify your bank immediately and request for a new card.
- After receiving the new card, make sure to change the PIN of the credit/debit card. The PIN can be changed either visiting your bank’s website or at your nearest ATM machine.
- Secure ATM Banking tips:
- While drawing money from an ATM machine, stand close to the machine and use your body and hand as a shield to hide the keypad as you enter your PIN in the machine.
- Memorise the PIN, do not write it down anywhere, and certainly do not write the PIN on the card itself.
- Do not take help from strangers or the security guard on how to operate the ATM Machine or handling your cash.
- If your card gets stuck in the ATM machine, or if the cash is not dispensed after you enter the pin and insert the value of the amount, call your bank immediately.
- If you have any complaint about your ATM/ debit or credit cards transaction at an ATM, you must take it up with the Bank immediately.
- Handling Debit/Credit Cards While making payments:
- Always ensure that the credit/debit cards swipes at the point of sale are done in your presence.
- During a transaction, keep your eye on your card. This will help you in avoiding potential cloning/unauthorized copying of your card information. Make sure you get it back before you walk away.
- Periodically monitor your bank and credit/debit card statements.
- Never store your credit/debit card information online.
- Never make use of your Debit/Credit cards on a public computer.
- If you suspect a suspicious transaction from your credit card, you should block your card immediately and file a complaint with the concerned bank and appropriate authority/forum.
- Miscellaneous:
- Transactions that involve larger sum of money always go for payment through a cheque or credit card. Cheque and credit card payments usually can be traced and verified.[5]
- Enable international transaction option on your credit card only when you are travelling abroad.[6] Always ensure to disable international transaction option on your card upon return to your home country.
- Always use familiar websites for online shopping.
- Always verify and install authentic e-wallet apps directly from the App Store on your smartphone. Do not follow links shared over email, SMS or social media to install e-wallet apps.
- Always type the information in online forms and do not use the auto-fill option on your web browser.
Note: The abovementioned steps are only meant with an objective to create awareness amongst the general public regarding how to prevent & protect themselves from falling prey to potential cybercrimes such as online financial frauds. In case, you want to report or take an action against a financial cybercrime, please contact a professional cyber security expert.
[1] National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, Secure Online Financial Frauds! , Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India Available at: https://cybercrime.gov.in/pdf/Financial%20Fraud%20Brochures%20final.pdf (Last accessed on July 3, 2020).
[2] Available at: http://www.cybercelldelhi.in/cheatingscams.html (Last Accessed on July 3, 2020).
[3] Available at: http://www.cybercelldelhi.in/insurancefrauds.html (Last accessed on July 3, 2020).
[4] National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, Secure Online Financial Frauds! , Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India Available at: https://cybercrime.gov.in/pdf/Financial%20Fraud%20Brochures%20final.pdf (Last accessed on July 3, 2020).
[5] Available at: http://www.cybercelldelhi.in/insurancefrauds.html (Last accessed on July 3, 2020).
[6] National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, Secure Online Financial Frauds! , Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India Available at: https://cybercrime.gov.in/pdf/Financial%20Fraud%20Brochures%20final.pdf (Last accessed on July 3, 2020).