Safe Digital Payment Practices in Times Of Social Distancing
Coronaviruspandemichasmandatedmanyinstitutionstorethinktheusageof onesurfacethatchangesmanyhandsCoronaviruspandemichasmandated manyinstitutionstorethinktheusageofonesurfacethatchangesmanyhands day-inandday-outthatiscashandcards.TheIndianGovernment,RBIand bankshaveurgedcitizenstousedigitalpaymentstoreducethespreadof COVID-19.Asaresult,therehasbeenaspurindigitalmodesofpayments, whichwillcontinuetoriseinthedaystocome.Thisunexpectedurgencyhas broughtfirst-timeusersaswellasuserswhoarenotverytechsavvytoounder theambitofdigitalpaymentsecosystem.
Inthelastfewyears,especiallysincedemonetisation,India’sdigitalpayment infrastructurehasstrengthenedsignificantlywiththehelpofinitiativesbythe Govt.andFintechplayers.Forinstance,introductionofinnovativeplatforms likeBHIMUPI,wallets,QRcode,tapandpayandincreaseinmerchant acceptancepointsbythewayofsmartPOSterminalsacceptingmultipleforms ofdigitalpayments.
Availabilityofsuchanecosystemhasensuredthatday-to-daylivesofpeople arenotaffectedamidstsuchcrisis.Whiletheincreasedadoptionof digital transactionsplaysanimportantroleinreducingtheriskofspreadingthevirus,it putsmanyatriskofcyberoronlinefrauds.Basicprecautionsandvigilancelike thefollowingcanavoidend-consumersfallingpreytovariousonlinescams.
NevershareUPIpinforreceivingpayment
Oneofthemostcommonwaysofdupingpeopleonlineisluringtheminto clickingonlinksthatoffermoney.UPIisthemosttargetedforthisfraud.The userisrequiredtoenterpintoauthenticate‘send’paymentonly.Inanycase,
usermustrefrainfromclickingonanylinkwhichasksforfinancialdetailslike atransactionPIN.
NationalCommonMobilityCard(NCMC)
NCMCfirstdrewattentionin2016whenthemostawaitedAutomaticFare CollectionSystem(AFC)wasintroducedwithKochiMetro.In2019,the GovernmentofIndiaintroduceditsfirst-everindigenouslydevelopedpayment platform:OneNation,OneCard,tofacilitateseamlesstravelthroughdifferent metrosandothertransportsystems.
LikeBankissuedcard/debitcards,itisasinglecardthatcanbeusedfor paymentsacrossallsegmentsincludingmetro,bus,suburbanrailways,toll, parking,smartcityandretailinadditiontousingATMfacilities.
DonotshareOTPwithanyone
AnothercommonwayofdeceivingusersisbyaskingforOTP.Thoughitis veryeasytospotthisscam,therearenaà veorfirst-timeuserswhomightgive intheirdetailsthinkingithassomethingtodowiththeirbankaccountsecurity. Remember,yourbankwillneveraskforyourOTPorothersensitivedetails.
Bewareofyouronlinepurchases
Withmanypeoplequarantinedattheirhomes,therewillbeanunprecedented increaseinthesalesofe-commerceplatforms.Therefore,beextracautious whileclickingonpop-upsthatseemlucrativeonthesesites.Chancesarethat theymightbemalicious.Ensureyouhaveupdatedallimportantsoftwarelike anti-virusinstalledonyoursystemincludingsmartphones.
Getyourfactsonlyfromlegitimatewebsites
Manypeopletrytobeupdatedwiththelatestdevelopmentsaboutthepandemic. Scammersandfraudstersareknowntotakeadvantageofthis.Accordingtoa reportbycybersecurityfirmCheckPointResearch,Coronavirus-themed domains50percentmorelikelytobemalicious.Usersmustseekinformation onlyfromtrustedwebsiteslikeWorldHealthOrganisation.
BewareofPhishing
Phishinginvolvesredirectinganonlineusertoaseeminglyofficialwebsite wherevictimsaretrickedintoupdatingtheirpersonalinformationlikebank accountnumbersordebit/creditcardnumbers.Tobesafe,holdyourselfback fromclickingonunfamiliarlinksonwebpages,emailsortextmessages.If thereisanymailwhichraisesdoubts,callyourbank/friend/relative,from whomeveryoureceivedtheemailandverifyitsauthenticity.
Stayinformedasmuchaspossible
RegulatorybodieslikeRBIandnetworkslikeNPCI,MastercardandVisatake variousinitiativestoensureimplementationofbestpaymentpractices.Absence ofaclearunderstandingofsuchinitiativesmakescustomerssusceptibleto onlinefrauds,especiallyfirst-timeusersorthosewithlimiteddigitalknowledge. Therefore,takenoteofallimportantcommunicationsfromyourbanktostay updatedwithlatestdevelopments.
Despitefrequentcommunicationandcustomereducationbythebanks,thereare stillpossibilitiesofonlinefraudsasscammingtechniquesevolvewithtime. Suchriskscanbefurtherminimisedifbanksintegratetheirsystemswithonline realtimefraudmonitoringsystemsandactivelytunetherulesofsuchsystem.In anutshell,whilethebanks,regulatorybodies,cybersecurityagenciesand paymentprovidersensurewegetbestandsecurepaymentplatforms,itssuccess willlargelydependonhowsafeourdigitalpracticesare.
*The article was first published on www.outlookindia.com.