It is notified from the source that approx 32 lakh debit card data in India are said to have been affected from locations in China as customers reported unauthorized usage in recent times.
Of the cybersecurity attack affected the user, the most are users of State Bank of India, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, among many others with 2.6 million are said to be on Visa & Master Card platform & 600,000 on the RuPay platform.
The actual cause of the happening is not declared yet. But, it is assumed that the breach has originated due to malware introduced in the systems of Hitachi Payment Services, which allows ATM, POS & other services to Indian banking systems.
Although Whispering on this highly considerable issue has been stared, the honorable authorities started the investigation to fix the issues.
How to Protect from Online Banking Fraud
Your Personal Steps can be –
Here is what you can do immediately to make sure that your banking account is safe and secure.
- Change your ATM password
While many banks have urged customers to change their ATM pins by sending out text messages saying that their withdrawal limit will be curtailed till the time they change their passcodes, others have blocked transactions entirely until customers changed their ATM pins. Even if you didn’t receive any such communication from your bank, it will be a good idea to immediately go to the nearest ATM and change your debit card passcode to ensure that you are safe from the data leak.
- Limit transactions temporarily
Banks like the State Bank of India often allow people to set financial and geographical limits on their card transactions. Those fearing the worst might want to contact their bank to set a temporary limit on the transaction size from their card and geographically limit the transactions and disable international transactions.
- Communicate with your bank regularly
According to the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, banks are supposed to email and text customers about each and every transaction happening from their cards and hence, it is important that you don’t ignore those emails or text messages and read them carefully to make sure that these indeed are authentic transactions.
- Change passcodes regularly
Since this is a cybersecurity breach, it is another reminder that ATM and net-banking facilities aren’t fully secure so changing passwords at regular intervals is a must – every month is a good idea to mitigate future threats.
Note – Do not use the same passcode for multiple cards.
- Do not share your Account Details with anyone
Banks aren’t supposed to ask customers for their personal details such as account numbers or passwords. This data breach could be seen as an opportune moment by fraudsters to trick you into revealing your account details. In case of any doubt, check with your bank.
BE AWARE!