New Delhi:

Ghaziabad resident Naresh Verma wasn’t worried when he had to rush to the hospital for an emergency even though he was short on fuel and cash. Thanks to his credit card.Verma doesn’t hesitate in paying his bills by his card, but the exercise is a strict no-no for another card user.

“One should never give the card at such petrol pump stations because you don’t know how many times they will swipe it,” says another card user, Ashwini Chaudhury.

Ashwini himself however doesn’t think twice before paying his food bill through a credit card.

“As far as these restaurants are concerned, it’s safe,” he says.

Thousands of people across the world are relying on plastic money to pay their bills. Statistics show that that 60 per cent of card-related frauds happen in the airline sector, where to book an e-ticket you are not only asked for your 16 digit credit card number but also the three digit CVC code – a give away of your financial stake.

“Sometimes airlines insist on your credit card code. You never know if it will be used responsibly by the call center executive,” says Cyber Law expert, Karnika Seth.

Here are some safeguards for safer transactions –

* Beware of phishing – don’t respond to mails that ask for your password.

* Use secure websites, look for an ‘s’ after the ‘http’ in the web page address.

* Never send payment information through email.

* Ensure that your card is swiped in your presence.

* Do not reveal your CVC code to anyone.

* Monitor your statement every week.

But if you are duped lodge despite following all those rules, you can lodge an FIR at the earliest because a credit card fraud is treated as cheating for which the offender can spend seven years in jail.

Link :http://www.indiwo.com/india/news/credit-cards-and-loans-money-plus/play-safe-with-plastic-money/5684/0