How To Protect Yourself From Online Card Fraud
What is phishing?
I used to think it was trivial advice to look very carefully at which site you enter your card details on, but it seems that in the rush to get more privacy on the internet.
Many people screaming for more privacy are quick to fill in information about their money on phishing sites that promise them Sephora vouchers or 1 euro tickets through flight agencies.
That’s the paradox, we fret about being tracked on the internet, about GDPR, but when one of these scams comes along promising the sea with salt we have no problem giving out our card details, which we should hold on to with our teeth.
Below are some common sense, tips to avoid waking up with blank cards.
First of all, what is phishing?
“Phishing” is a process by which personal data is obtained from a card, the actual action consisting of sending an email in which the user is advised to give out their confidential data for various reasons. Usually, the sender of the email appears to be the bank where the user has a card or an online service that the user uses. More recently, social networks, Facebook, WhatsApp are being used intensively, that’s why you see a lot of messages with flight agencies offering tickets for 1 euro or Sephora offering you I don’t know what gift voucher.
In reality, the messages are sent by smart guys who make clones of official websites, with logos, texts, and colors, but they are used to take your card details.
Once you’ve entered them you find you’ve paid for who knows what online service or your card has been used to shop at various online stores.
Obviously, the only solution you have now is to block the card, but your accounts may already be empty.
The easiest thing to do would be to be very careful before entering your card details online.
A few recommendations so you don’t end up with an empty card:
Check the address of the website you enter from the link in the email or on Facebook and check that the page asking for your card details is that of a known payment processor (the most used ones in our country are Mobilpay, LibraPay, and PayU), and if you’re still in doubt, call the company that says it’s asking for your card.
If there are no official contact details on that site chances are that the site is a phishing site, Google the company and go to the official site, there you have the contact details.
Don’t give your card details over the phone, even if someone calls you and says it’s from the bank.
No bank will ask you for your card details or PIN code on the phone, or your username and password if it’s internet banking.
If you receive an email look carefully at the sender, phishing emails don’t come from the brand’s official domain, but from similar domains.
Google the official website if you’re not sure.
Ignore emails that start with Urgent, Important, Emergency Update or Important messages about your card from the start, no reputable bank or brand sends this.
Also check the SSL certificate, if it’s an official secure site it has HTTPS, that little box that appears next to the address in the browser, phishing sites in 99% of cases use domains without SSL, on hosts from more banal countries.
If you’re still not sure whether or not it’s phishing call a friend who is more familiar with the internet and online payments and ask them.
And remember, if an offer is too good to be true it certainly isn’t.
No one is giving you anything for free on the internet just because you share a Facebook share.
