Banking Scams in Pakistan: How To Protect Yourself?

There, nowadays are many scams happening in Pakistan. Most of them are regarding online banking, people are losing lot’s of money without even knowing why and how. But don’t worry, we are here to guide you on how you can protect yourself as well as your friends and family from banking scams in Pakistan.

Banking Scams In Pakistan

There are many types of scams that are going on right now, we will try to cover as many as possible, some through online hacking, others through card replication etc.

HBL e-commerce Transaction Scams

This scam is when your card will get charged for an online transaction on websites like Aliexpress, Banggood, Steam, iTunes, Playstore, Spotify or somewhere else without your knowledge. You will receive an SMS that your card got charged. You did not make this transaction. This is for those who own HBL cards because we have seen a lot of posts that how people get scammed due to HBL online transactions, to save yourself follow the following steps; Go to your HBL App – Card Management – Manage your card – E-commerce transaction.

Always keep your e-commerce transaction off. Whenever you want to purchase something from an online store, turn on your e-commerce transaction, do your payment process and then again turn off the e-commerce transaction option. If anyone knows even your whole card details (Name, card no, expiry and even CVV), they’ll not be able to access your card until and unless you enable your e-commerce transactions.

Card Replication Scams

Some other scams include scammers who replicate your card and withdraw money through ATMs. To save yourself from this scam, you can temporarily block your card in the card management section of your application or call your bank’s helpline and whenever, if you want to withdraw money from your account, simply go and reactivate your card through your application. I know this is a little long and time consuming but, in this case, even someone who replicates your card won’t be able to withdraw money through ATMs. Also opt in for any message notification service from your bank, this way if anyone attempts the transaction, you will get a message notifying you of the transaction. This will be very useful, you can then contact your bank as well as the local police department.

How Do They Get My Card Number

How did they get my card number when I don’t make online transactions?

This is the biggest mistake people make in assuming they got hacked or someone leaked their data. In 99.99% of the cases they themselves gave the card number to someone physically.

These are huge Banking Scams in Pakistan. Whenever you are at a restaurant you will notice servers bring the bill and a lot of people put their card in the bill book which they take away from you. When you are at a petrol pump, sometimes at a grocery store you give the card to the cashier who can easily read front and back. Some stores even write of your card number directly infront of you on the bill and put it in the drawer. You are at a drive through and give your card to someone who takes it inside and closes window. Not to forget many of these places have high quality CCTV cameras, and if the camera is close enough, anyone can read the numbers through simply taking a screen shot, or to just take a simple photo of the front and back of your card and that’s it. They can then charge it on these sites which they use to make online purchases or even sell your data. In fact it is so easy it can be done without a picture.

They only need to memorize 12 digits + expiry + 3-4 cvv digits which can even be done by memory in your plain site where they pretend to check the front and back of your card.

Another factor is that it can even be a kid inside your own house. This problem has existed for years worldwide where kids will be paying for games through their parents cards. Many of these apps even guide kids on how to make these transactions where they can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in useless virtual items for their games. Many will term this as a banking scam while it’s just their kids.

To save yourself from these physical scams, all you need to do is hide the physically written numbers of your card in a way where no one can get the details even if they take a picture of it. The simplest way is to place a sticker on the 3-4 CVV digit code on the back of the card, as well as the last 4-5 digits on the front. Make sure the sticker is thin and non metallic so it doesn’t cause problems at the ATM. Even if you cover one of the above mentioned things, you are pretty much safe.

Third method is even easier, whenever you want to make a transaction with your card, polietly ask them to bring the POS machine to you. Also don’t let them write numbers on bills.

Don’t Trust Emails Or Messages Asking for Card Info

All of the banks say this, but I am saying it once again. Do not give your card information to anyone on call or message or email even if they say they are from the bank. It has happened to me countless times where they would say that there is a problem with your card etc and that they need you number. Do not trust them, your bank will never call you and ask for your ATM pin or other sensitive information.

So, what do you think about this? Have you ever experienced such a scam? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Also, this time I will request you to share the article, only so that your friends and family can stay safe from these banking scams in Pakistan.