Debit Card Fraud: Use card protection services to save yourself

After the recent financial data security breach which allegedly compromised about 32 lakh accounts, banks are taking steps to protect their customers from the financial fraud occurring via ATM, debit and credit cards.

Of the cards, 26 lakh are said to be on the Visa and MasterCard platform and 6 lakh on the RuPay platform.

Several reports suggest that the breach is said to have originated in malware introduced in the systems of Hitachi Payment Services, which has enabled fraudsters to steal information, cited the Business Standard report on Thursday. 

“With rising cases of complex and sophisticated crime, it has become vital for companies to invest in robust anti-fraud frameworks to deter perpetrators. While companies are doing their part, consumers can also take certain precautionary measures at an individual level to combat falling prey to online fraud," EY India partner- fraud investigation and dispute services, Mukul Shrivastava, said in a statement. 

So, if you are worried about how can you protect your ATM, debit and credit cards from cyber attacks there is a solution that we have got for you which is card protection plan or simply CPP. 

Benefits of CPP 

1. One phone call to CPP service provider's 24-hour helpline will ensure that all your lost cards are blocked including PAN card, SIM card, etc., while travelling within or outside India 

2. With the card protection service, you are covered from any fraud that may take place on your cards due to loss/theft, skimming, counterfeiting, online usage, phishing and PIN based fraud.

What are the available Card Protection Plans in the market? 

There is one company called CPP India, which offers card protection service to customers with plans starting from Rs 1,599 to Rs 2,499.

CPP India offers three plans on card protection as:

1. Classic Single at Rs 1,599

2. Premium Joint at Rs 1,999

3. Platinum Family  at Rs 2,499

With CPP India plans, one can avail benefits of emergency travel assistance, SIM card blocking, complimentary fraud detection including banking protection with F-Secure internet security, teleregistration line, valuable document registration, PAN card replacement service, etc., 

There is another financial institution like Kotak Mahindra Bank which offers OneCall SOS plan under its CPP Card Protection programme at Rs 899 for one year membership. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank offers CPP Card Protection plan from Rs 1,599 to Rs 2,499. With Kotak's Card Protection plans, you can register your cards/vehicles, can get emergency travel and hotel assistance of up to Rs 80,000 in India and Rs 1,60,000 overseas*, free replacement of PAN cards, in case of break down of your car or bike you can get emergency roadside assistance services, etc. 

Similarly, ICICI Bank offers three yearly membership plans on CPP Card Protection starting at Rs 1,599 to Rs 2,499.  

State Bank of India (SBI) too offers yearly membership plans on CPP Card Protection starting at Rs 1,599 to Rs 2,499.  

In order to learn more about the  card protection services, you can log in to your bank's website and go into the insurance option which comes under 'Personal' category or you can just give a call to customer care centre of your bank.

Lastly, Shrivastava from EY India advises that customers should avoid sharing any private factual information especially on social networking sites, use unique passwords and change them at regular intervals to mitigate surging cases of identity thefts.