Online Payment Fraud in India – How is the Youth Affected

 

Online Payment have taken the market by storm. The positives of digital payment have compelled most businesses to add this method as a mode of payment. Doesn’t everything sound too good to be true? Well, digital payments have downsides to it too, and with more and more people becoming aware of the risks of data breaches, banks, and payment gateways are finding better ways to secure customer data.


Studies suggest that there is a strong correlation between the rise in the adoption of mobile applications, and online payments and an increase in financial fraud. As per a global survey conducted by FIS in 2019, statistics state that Indians are amongst the most frequent victims of online banking frauds so much so that the rate has doubled to 37% this year against 18% last year.

The rapid pace of digitization has created a competitive situation in the market wherein banks and payment wallets have developed apps for customers along with websites to complete quick and hassle-free transactions. Yet, around 96% of people who chose mobile apps over traditional modes of payment were affected by online payment fraud.
As per the data released by RBI for the financial year 2017-18, banks lost around Rs 32,000 crores of public money to online payment fraud. This showed a three-fold rise in digital scams in the last 5 years.


Let’s dive a little deeper into the different types of payment fraud and what steps have been taken by financial institutes to curb the repetition of such cases.


What are the common types of online payment fraud?

Online payment
Even after banks repeatedly send out notices and warnings about the types of payment frauds and how to be wary of them, hackers find a way to pose as authorized personnel to commit the crime. The most common types of payment fraud in India are:

Phishing:

Phishing is the process of accessing the target’s personal information and financial credentials through e-mails, text messages, or over calls. This sensitive information obtained by hackers is then used by them to their benefit.
Friendly Fraud:

Also known as a Chargeback Fraud, Friendly Fraud is when a customer (fraudster) completes the payment process with his own credit card. On receiving the goods or service, he then requests the issuing bank for a chargeback stating that his card was lost.
Unsafe apps and websites:

While casually browsing on the internet, we come across a number of pop-ups and are rerouted to unknown websites or app links that turn out to be fraudulent. People who are unaware of the pitfalls of such scenarios tend to give away sensitive information that is later misused against them.

Why is there a rise in online payment fraud in India?

After businesses bore the blow of demonetization, close to 1/3rd of India’s population resorted to online payment systems. It then became fairly easy for hackers to obtain confidential data. Some of the reason why there was a hike in the rate of fraud is:


• Lack of prosecution for such crimes.
• Low priority of digital payment frauds.
• Frequent calls from people pretending to be from banks and asking you for your personal details.
• Difficulty in nabbing the fraudster due to fake accounts created by him.

To know what is online fraud and how to prevent it click here.


Who is affected the most by online payment fraud?

A number of factors drove the younger generation to move to online modes of payment from their traditional counterparts. Low cost of mobile data connectivity, user-friendly interface of apps and websites, and convenience on-the-go form the top three tiers that contribute to the growth of digital payments. The age group of 18-37 is the prime audience that is affected by such online frauds as they are the working class and it is convenient for them to make transactions while traveling because of their busy schedules.


How are payment gateways securing customer data and preventing online fraud?

Since a large chunk of people is opting for payment gateway integrations, it goes without saying that data security becomes a major concern. Many steps are taken by such gateways to ensure the customer’s information is safe and secure. Some of the basic but important methods of securing data are:


• SSL Protocol
PCI DSS Compliance
• Tokenization
Encryption of data

Such steps create a sense of security in the minds of the customers so they complete transactions without giving it a second thought.

We, at Digital Payment Guru, partner with payment gateways that are leading in the market. We understand your concern about online payment fraud and ensure all transactions are secured under PCI DSS Level 1 compliant technology and fraud scrub. This allows customers to go ahead and make payments without worrying about the threats of data leaks. Head on to Digital Payment Guru to know more!

 

What Is Online Fraud And How To Prevent It?

Have you shopped online? Online fraud is what you can come across if not aware, Online fraud is false deception intentionally made for financial gains. Online frauds are of different types:

  • Online Spoofing
  • Online Phishing.
  • Triangulation fraud.
  • Data Theft
  • Chargeback fraud.

Online Spoofing:

Spoofing is the creation of spam emails that look genuine and trick businesses to take action. No one would knowingly download a Trojan package into the system unless provoked to do it by putting fake popups on security threats for the system. How it’s done? Well, genuine-looking mail is created with corporate graphics of reputed service providers which will guide you on how to protect your business. This professional graphic makes the mail look genuine and tricks businesses to click on the link in the mail. This link executes malicious software which harms the operating system and critical files, it expands through the network and affects clients as well.

spoofing

How to prevent Spoofing?

-When you receive such suspicious emails best thing to do is hover over the senders’ address, hackers have a domain name that is very much similar to legitimate domain names, so check for spelling mistakes.

-Legitimate institute never sends an attachment like .exe, .bat, or zip, check if the email has an attachment. Red flag the mail and do not follow any instructions written in the mail.

Online Phishing:

Phishing is a form of Spoofing but unlike Spoofing where attackers tend to break into the system and fetch information, Phishing is tricking the end-user to reveal sensitive information wherein a genuine-looking message is forwarded to the end-user which consists of a fake website link. This link redirects the end user to a bogus website that asks for sensitive account-related information. Revealing this information can harm your financial assets.

How to prevent Phishing?

-There is no problem in clicking on the links when you are on a trusted site, but when it comes to clicking on the links within the email or message you need to be 100% sure as these links can be spam links. Before clicking on such a link hover over the email and check if the links direct to what it actually shows. Do not fill in any personal data on such sites as it can be a lure to steal your data.

-Install Anti Phishing tools on a browser as these tools scan the entire websites and check with a list of phishing sites. If you visit any malicious sites the tool prompts immediately, do not visit the site.

Triangulation fraud:

Triangular fraud as the name suggests involvement of three people,

  1. Customer who places an order.
  2. Fraud seller.
  3. Genuine E-commerce site.

triangulation fraud

How fraud is done? A legitimate-looking website is made by a fraud seller who displays some items at very low prices, which makes the customers buy the products. The customer is unaware of the fraud happening and places an order on this fake website. The fraud seller has stolen credit card information which he uses to make the purchase of those products for which an order has been placed on his fake website. He purchases these products from a genuine website. The customer receives all the updates with the respective product from the seller. The seller sends these updates from a genuine site to the customer.

Who is the criminal? The seller with a stolen credit card is the criminal.

Victims? Well, there are two victims, the customer, If the fraud is discovered, the genuine website will contact the customer to return the stolen products.

and the person whose credit card details were used for transactions is a victim as he is unaware of those transactions.

How to prevent Triangulation fraud?

-Speak with the customer who doubts suspect triangulation fraud, and gather as much information as possible about the seller to determine the fake website.

-Focus on the products as the seller has some list of common products which sell very frequently, this can help to analyze the pattern of fraud.

Chargeback fraud:

Chargeback is the term used for an order from a bank to a business to return the amount paid for a fraudulent purchase. How is a chargeback fraud done? The customer makes a payment through a payment gateway for certain goods or services, later on, he/she claims that the purchase was made fraudulently or makes a false request that the goods were not delivered and claims for a chargeback. When a transaction seems legitimate then chargeback is the only way to get the money back.

How to prevent Chargeback Fraud?

The customer claims a chargeback for many reasons so the first step will be to identify the reason for a chargeback. Sometimes the customer can claim a chargeback if the description doesn’t go with the product when delivered. So work on the description to avoid a chargeback.

-Use delivery confirmation to ensure that the product has been delivered to the customer, at times it happens that a customer is not at home and the package is left on the porch which can be stolen, so for you, the item is delivered but the customer did not receive the product for which chargeback can be claimed.