Pre-Diwali panic as over 3 million debit cards 'tainted'
More than 30,00,000 debit cards issued by various public or private banks are said to be affected by a potential risk of data breach
Mumbai, Oct 20: In pre-Diwali panic among consumers, over three million debit cards of various banks are believed to be 'tainted' following a suspected security breach, even as investigations have begun into the causes behind the security risks.
Several banks, including the State Bank Of India (SBI), have already started blocking their customers' debit cards and re-issuing fresh ones to them free of cost.
An estimated more than 30,00,000 debit cards issued by various public or private banks are said to be affected by a potential risk of data breach.
Debit or credit cards are prone to security issues when unauthorized parties gain access to the confidential data embedded on them, even if it is being swiped in an automatic teller machine (ATM).
Read
more:
Finance
Ministry
seeks
info
from
banks
on
debit
cards
security
breach
In
the
current
scenario,
the
SBI
alone
has
blocked
more
than
600,000
debit
cards
while
assuring
that
the
malware-related
security
breach
was
reportedly
detected
in
the
non-SBI
ATM
network.
The move has been undertaken to ensure that customer's confidential personal data is not compromised while swiping them for various transactions.
One of the card network companies MasterCard said on Thursday that its "own systems have not been breached".
"We are working on the investigations with the regulators, issuers, acquirers, global and local law enforcement agencies and third party payment networks to assess the current situation," a MasterCard spokesperson said.
It has advised the consumers to review their account statements and activity, and if any unusual or fraudulent transactions are suspected, they should contact the concerned bank for more assistance.
IANS