While credit-card fraud increased in 2017, compared to 2016, debit-card fraud decreased. This is according to the latest card fraud statistics recently released by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric).
Sabric CEO Kalyani Pillay says that the decrease seen in debit-card fraud is due to a reduction in lost and/or stolen cards and counterfeit-card fraud.
Lost and/or stolen credit-card fraud, however, saw a 44.5 percent increase and accounted for 5.9 percent of overall gross fraud losses in 2017, with 76.1 percent of fraud occurring in South Africa. Criminals mostly stole, swopped or installed card-entrapment devices at ATMs and then shoulder-surfed victims to obtain their PINs.
"Criminals are always adjusting their tactics to take advantage of innovations in the banking landscape," said Pillay.
The statistics also indicate that credit card-related "card-not-present" (CNP) fraud is still the leading contributor to gross fraud losses in South Africa, and showed an increase of 7.4 percent from 2016, accounting for 72.9 percent of the losses on SA-issued credit cards. CNP debit-card fraud showed a more significant increase of 60.7 percent, due to certain banks allowing online CNP transactions on debit cards.
Always protect your personal information, and do not under any circumstances share PINs, One-Time PINs or any other authentication information with anyone.
Pillay has stressed that bank clients need to be vigilant about protecting their personal information always. "Always protect your personal information, and do not under any circumstances share PINs, One-Time PINs or any other authentication information with anyone. Your bank will never ask you for these."
Sabric urges South Africans to take the following protective measures when transacting with their bank cards:
- Don't disclose personal information such as passwords and PINs when asked to do so by anyone via telephone, fax or even email. Also avoid sending e-mails that quote your card number and expiry date.
- Don't carry unnecessary personal information in your wallet or purse, and avoid writing down PINs and passwords, and avoid obvious choices like birth dates and first names.
- If you have a debit, cheque and credit card, don't choose the same PIN for all of them. If you lose one, the others will still be safe.
- Avoid doing banking at internet cafés or unsecured terminals such as hotels and conference centres, and when shopping online, only place orders with your card on secure websites.
- Subscribe to your bank's SMS notification services to inform you of any transactional activity on your account. Do review your account statements on a timely basis and query disputed transactions with your bank immediately.
- Protect your cards as if they were cash. Never let the card out of your sight when making payments, and ensure that you get your own card back after every purchase.
- While transacting, always keep an eye on the ATM card slot to ensure that your card is not taken out, skimmed and replaced without your knowledge.
- Should your card be retained by an ATM, contact your bank and block your card before you leave the ATM
- Report lost and stolen cards immediately.