Technology has made payments easier and hassle-free but at the same time has led to a high incidence of fraud. In a recent statement to the Parliament, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister Of State for finance revealed that fraud cases for debit and credit cards and Internet banking have seen a substantial rise in the last few years.
In FY 2019-20, there were 2,677 frauds reported, and in FY 2023-24 the number of frauds had risen to a staggering 29,082 frauds, a whopping 986 per cent rise in five years! The total amount involved in these frauds increased from Rs 129 crore to 1,457 crore over the same period.
However, when it comes to recovery, the amount rose from Rs 12 crore to Rs 139 crore, which reflects a rather stable recovery rate.
The minister particularly mentioned frauds in the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) where Aadhaar numbers and biometric data have been compromised.
The numbers underscore the importance of following precautions while transacting online. Basic guidelines include not sharing one-time passwords (OTPs) with anyone and never clicking on any link received via mail to make any financial transaction. In case of AePS fraud, one must never share Aadhaar details with anyone except with trusted authorities. One should always check emails and SMSs to track any transactions that might have been made. In case of fraud, you can complain here, or dial helpline number 1930 to report the incident on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal www.cybercrime.gov.in and your bank.
Further, customers should be aware that a bank will never call up and ask someone for any information regarding details of their bank account. Any financial transaction should be done only on the official website of a bank.
Credit card fraud can be prevented by immediately reporting lost or stolen credit cards and also regularly monitoring your credit card transactions. One can also use virtual credit cards with a defined credit limit for online shopping so that one’s losses are limited in case of any fraud.
Remember, it is your hard-earned money, so you must protect it.
