How to guard yourself against credit/debit card theft

The head of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber-crime division Captain (retd) Mohammad Shoaib has revealed that customers data from “almost all major Pakistani banks” was stolen in a recent security breach. 

The statement from Mohammad Shoaib comes after Group-IB, a global cybersecurity firm released a report on a new dump of Pakistani credit and debit cards on dark web forums.

According to reports, almost 20,000 cards from over 20 banks were dumped on the dark web.

Here also some precautionary measures users can take to guard themselves against credit/debit card theft.

1. Change your banking codes on a regular basis. The State Bank of Pakistan advises changing all your codes if not every month then at least every two months.

2. Ensure that international use of your card is restricted. Remove the restriction temporarily if an international transaction is required.

3. If you are unsure about a transaction, contact your bank immediately so your card can be blocked.