Plastic money users beware, cloning on rise

New Delhi: With an increase in the number of cases of credit card cloning, police have asked customers and banks to be careful while using or issuing credit cards. ‘‘We are asking the banks to add more advanced security features so that users can’t be cheated. Criminals are now becoming tech-savvy. Hence, they can now breach any high-security codes previously unheard of. As such, banks too need to continuously modernise and update their technology to beat the cyber criminals in their own game,’’ said Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat. ‘‘Most of the criminals clone the card taking advantage of unmindful customers. The most vulnerable areas are small shops where transaction amount is really less or places like petrol pumps where customers do not bother to get out of their cars even during the swiping of the card. It is important that a customer personally oversee the process of swiping of the card. One should not absolutely hand over the card to a stranger,’’ said Bhagat. He added that people had to be careful about giving out their card numbers on the internet. ‘‘It is necessary to crosscheck the credibility of websites,’’ he said. He claimed that there were sufficient number of police officers who are trained to handle such crimes. ‘‘We act immediately when we receive such a complaint,’’ Bhagat said. However, sources in the Economic Offences Wing said there was a major shortfall of staff who can work on the front. ‘‘We have arrested a few of these offenders. However, in most cases we have failed to retrieve the swiping machines, thus increasing the chances of further misuse since these machines store the data found in the credit card strip. We also do not have the technology to track these offenders on a larger scale. At present, it is more an incident-specific approach that we are adopting as we lack the proper tools to track such crimes,’’ said a senior police officer. However, according to Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer specialising in cyber crime, there is also a need for more stringent IT laws. ‘‘At present, such an act is not treated as a direct offence. The quantum of damages are inadequate too. The quantum of damages need to be increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and the offence must be made a punishable offence with 5-7 years’ prison term,’’ he said. ‘‘The government, financial institutions, the police and the user themselves must come together to spread awareness on this subject,’’ he concluded.

GUIDELINES FOR CREDIT CARD USERS

Don’t hand over your credit card to a stranger

Be vigilant while your credit card is being swiped

Don’t reveal your card number on unsecured websites

Periodically check your accounts and involve your bank in the process

Be aware of the technicalities before using your card

Report any misuse immediately to the police

Dwaipayan Ghosh TNN