Rs 1 lakh Gone! Flight ticket cancellation turns horrible for this man: Check how to keep money safe

Financial cybercrimes have been on the rise in India and most prone to these frauds are senior citizens and housewives. Recently, a Delhi-based woman lost around Rs 52,000 to fraudsters. Now a case has come to light where a senior citizen has lost Rs 1 lakh in online fraud. According to an NBT report, a Delhi-based senior citizen had booked an Air India ticket and wanted to cancel it. He tried to cancel the ticket online but could not do so. Thereafter, he contacted the customer care number of the airline. Here, it's not clear whether he made a call to the original customer care number or any fake number obtained from search engines as in the case of the above-mentioned woman. 

The report further said that when the elderly person contacted the customer care number, he was given a mobile number by the executive. When he called on the mobile number, the person on the other side of the phone managed to get his bank account and Debit card details. During the 10-minute long conversation, he received three to four OTPs on his mobile which he shared with the person. The person promised him that the refund amount will be credited back to his account by evening. Once the senior citizen disconnected the call, he received a message that Rs 1 lakh was debited from his account. 

When he contacted his bank branch, he was told to register a complaint with the police. Police are investigating the matter and have registered an FIR in this connection. 

How to keep yourself safe from ATM, Debit Card, OTP fraud?

Your alertness is key to keeping your money safe. One should pay attention to warnings issued by banks from time to time. You should follow these steps to keep your money safe:

* Never share your ATM card details with anyone

* Keep your ATM/Debit/Credit card PIN a top secret and don't ever disclose it to anyone including the bank employees and family members

* Never share the transaction OTP received on your mobile/e-mail with anyone

* Do not take help from strangers or hand over your card to anyone for using your debit/credit card

* Do not allow the card to go out of your sight when you are making a payment

* Avoid speaking on the mobile phone while you are transacting

* Change your Debit/Credit Card PIN regularly

* Insist on swiping your card in your presence in hotels/shops/malls, etc

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* Never swipe your card at POS machines kept at unknown temporary stalls

* Immediately block and destroy your old card, when you get a new one

* If you receive an OTP for a transaction not initiated by you, get your card blocked immediately.