Safeguarding your Credit Cards

"Rs.60,000 gone in a day"....thats what I heard from one of my colleagues when I entered office today. How ? Someone had used his Credit Card details to buy Airline tickets worth Rs.60,000.

He first summoned me & asked if our Office network was secure, as I am a Security Consultant. Later on, after a few rounds of discussions we suspected that someone probably had jotted down his Card No., Expiry Date & CVV in some Hotel or other location where he had used his card. It reminds me of the famous Security statement - "Security is like a chain & its total strength is equal to the strength at its weakest point". In todays tech-savvy world there are 2 weak points - the Internet & not to forget, the vulnerable HUMAN CHAIN.

So how to keep your Credit Card secure -

1. Whenever you handover your Credit Card at any outlet, make sure that the executive is not noting down the Card details.
   
2. Keep a regular check on your Card transactions by checking online. This will prevent any misuse of your Card. Don't worry, online transactions are still pretty safe & secure provided you have logged on to a secure site (i.e. httpS://*.*) of a genuine company.
   
3. Do not make transactions until & unless the site is a Secure site. Do ensure that the site being accessed is not a Phished site. Banking firms & various other companies regularly sent mailers to customers on how to check whether the site is a genuine site.
   
4. Nowadays many Banks also provide one time use Virtual Credit Cards that can be created by you for online transactions.
   
5. As a best practice, memorize your CVV code & scribble the same behind your Card.
6. Close your unused Credit Cards & physically destroy them.
   

A little bit of technical / financial know how & keeping yourself updated with the latest happenings around you will keep your Credit Cards safe & secure.