2023-07-05 02:48:50
It is increasingly difficult to identify the way in which the owners of what belongs to others will attack. Worse still, when the digital world has introduced changes in the use of cards, to the point that just a quick contact is enough to make a payment.
In the midst of the multiple forms of card theft, thousands and thousands of Colombians have been victims of the so-called ‘cambiazo’, in which even experts in banking affairs have fallen.
In light of recent events, according to testimonies from victims of fraud, which consists of using a ruse to get the person to hand over the card, even momentarily, and quickly exchange it for another to loot the unfortunate person’s account, Bancolombia prepared a package of recommendations to avoid fraud due to supposed card changes.
Most people, when they hear the cases recounted by the victims, tend to say, “it wouldn’t happen to me”, “I don’t fall for it that easily”. However, no one is exempt. So some of the suggestions for protecting yourself from card looting might sound obvious, but that doesn’t mean they should go unnoticed.
Even more so, because as users of plastic to make transactions know the information used by criminals, the more they advance in the sophistication of the tricks to carry out their misdeeds.
Despite the new and modern mechanisms to protect money, criminals remain on the prowl and new ways are invented every time to access financial information and loot citizens’ accounts. – Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The basics
1. The change of card is a modality of theft through which, they change a card to the person, either the debit or the credit, with a quick maneuver, to return a false one to the holder.
2. It is common for Colombians to have heard that the bank recommends ‘Do not lose sight of your cards at any time’. Even so, reality shows that people are distracted and the opportunity is taken advantage of by criminals. In the case of the ‘great card change’, Bancolombia suggests that, “Even if the citizen is in the process of changing one of these plastics, it is necessary that he be the only one who maintains control of the product”.
3. Similarly, the bank frequently indicates that the user of a card should “never” provide personal or financial information through telephone calls or by any other means. That type of information that must be kept private includes: user; bank key; debit and credit card number; expiration date of the cards, and security code of the cards.
According to Bancolombia, “this data is what the cardholder uses to make payments or purchases in person or virtually, and if someone else has access to it, they could use it to carry out transactions in their name, which are charged to their cards. It is also possible that, inadvertently, the citizen is giving criminals access to the money you have in your savings or checking account.
The sophistication of the change
A woman recently reported to her bank that she ‘fell into the trap’ because they made a call to her from the number she normally used to contact her bank.
That is to say, one of the most sophisticated modalities is the use of the original source, with which, it is useless to be alert. Even though security experts point out that it is the citizen himself who provides the information, in this case, the victim does not remember having provided their data.
However, the issuer who was on the other end of the line spoke to her with such property about her information that she did not allow any doubts. In this way, she was informed that they would give her a new card, with a much higher category that would allow her many advantages compared to the one she had.
What they offered to change the card was not something easy to refuse: lower interest and waived handling fee forever. Everything, for the good handling that he had given to the plastic. The woman accepted and received the offender in her office, where—without anesthesia—they changed him.
“Cards are not loans, but means of payment that must be used for a fee”: finance expert regarding the rate reduction announced by some banks. – Photo: Getty Images
How to save yourself?
It seems difficult to save yourself from the change. Probably the choice of the victim is massive, but what is random is the one that falls.
Individually, Bancolombia says that it has a special line where citizens can call and verify if it is really the bank that is going to give them the card. The same thing happens in other banks.
The bank also recommends “checking that the card comes in the sealed envelope and does not present any type of damage. If the delivery operator is present, demand that the envelope be opened in your presence.”
As technology advances, it is easier to use the card, but also the possibility of fraud. – Photo: Getty Images
Additionally, at the time of receiving the new card, “keep in mind that it is not necessary for the operator to write the information from the identity card or the previous card on forms. If they ask for your number, be wary. This will only validate your identity document.
The financial entity adds that, in the case of receiving a new card due to expiration, change of product category or reissue, the previous one “should never be delivered to the operator, nor is it necessary for you to have it in your possession to be able to receive the new one. You yourself must destroy and dispose of it.”
Very important
Don’t forget that the most important part of a card is the chip, because that’s where your information is stored. Therefore, “when you receive the new card you must destroy the chip of the old card, to prevent future fraud.”
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