Stanbic warns of debit card fraudsters

Published: 29 September 2017

STANBIC Bank has warned members of the public to guard against falling victim to debit card fraudsters.

Acting head of personal and business Banking, Mr Patson Mahatchi said his bank has assumed responsibility to ensure that all debit or credit card holders were aware of the risks of card fraud.

"It is our duty as a bank to sensitise the general populace of Zimbabwe on the potential threats out there and to educate them on how to avoid falling victim to the cons that have come alive following the increase in the use of plastic money," said Mr Mahatchi.

He said that every credit or debit card holder needs to protect their card details, which are not limited to the PIN but also include even the card number.

"There are a lot of factors involved in the security of card details such as covering your PIN when making a POS payment, alerting the bank that your card has been retained by the ATM before you leave the ATM," he explained.

Mr Mahatchi also said that it was not recommended for two people to share the same debit card in as much as they share an account.

"We urge everyone to avoid sharing their PINs with anyone else, even their spouse. It is advisable for couples to acquire two different debit cards for the same account in order to create a secure system of funds sharing and usage," he said.

Stanbic Bank has since put in place an authentication security feature for online purchases, which requests for confirmation of identity by the user through the use of one time passwords thereby safeguarding the customers' funds from unintended usages.

"Verified by VISA is a security feature we are calling 3D Secure and have added onto our cards as it helps deal with issues of card fraud when it comes to online shopping. Customers will be required to input a password that will be generated by the site and sent to the mobile number or email address registered with the bank against the account," said Mr Mahachi.

He said as a bank, Stanbic has also taken measures to ensure that their cards can transact securely across the globe.

"All our cards are Europay, Mastercard and VISA (EMV) compliant and acceptable for electronic payments in other countries.

We then highly recommend all our travelling customers to inform the bank of their intended travel through their relationship managers as a way of enabling the bank to monitor transaction activity for security purposes," said Mr Mahachi.
- chronicle

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