Caller: Hello! How are you doing today?
Recipient: Hey! I’m good…
Caller: I have called to tell you that your credit card has been reported as blocked and hence, I would need you to tell me your credit card details to unblock it
Recipient: But, I used my card a while ago and nothing popped up. Are you sure?
Caller: Yes, sir I am sure. I am speaking from PNX Bank and I can see it on my computer
Recipient: Alright! Here’s my card number XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX and Year of expiration XX/YY and CVV code XYZ
Caller: Thank you for the details. You will receive a message of unblocking soon. Thanks
15 minutes later…
Recipient receives a message stating that US $600 has been credited from his account for a transaction in Zimbabwe.
Over 140,000 reports of identity theft are reported every year in the United States and the recipient, in this case, is required to pay his due of US $600 as he shared his identity with an unknown entity. This enormous number stems with the ease at which these fraudulent transactions can be done. In majority of the cases, details of the caller are wired through various network points, and hence, catching identity thieves is very time consuming.
Parallelly, since transactions in most predominantly capitalist countries do not require an OTP (One-time password), the prevalence of such cases is a lot more in these countries. The ease of transactions and card usage causes these cards to be unbelievably unsafe and untrustworthy with respect to safety of usage.
When the question arises why people do these crimes, the answer is simple – greed. However, when we ask how do we protect ourselves, the answer is complicated. Apart from not giving personal details to unknown persons, and not responding to any-such fraudulent call, we can’t really do anything. The banking industry often offers credit card insurance to protect one against such frauds, but, these insurance policies are typically useless. The government, too, supports the banking propaganda – once the card is given, it is the users responsibility to protect it.