One new form is called ‘skimming.’ Arindam Bhattacharya, a consultant with a leading banking software development company, says, “All your personal data is stored inside the black magnetic strip of the card. Miscreants mostly use a small keypad and an extra swipe on a scanning machine makes all that confidential information get copied. They then plant the same on plastic cards and have dummy cards that can be easily used without the owner’s knowledge.”

He recommends “You should personally go to the cashier instead of handing over the card to a waiter”. Also people on the tills in shopping centers “should verify signatures during card transactions”, a simple task that is rarely carried out.

Internet transactions are another danger area. Anil Ramnani, assistant manager with a bank, explains, “Every card has a unique Card Verification Value (CVV) number at the back, next to your signature. If a person knows your name, card number, CVV number and expiry date, he can easily carry out Internet transactions. So, it is important to cancel out the CVV number and note it down somewhere else. This has been the most common practice of credit card misuse in recent times.”

It is also explained that you should “preferably use one’s own PC as softwares may be installed to capture details of your card” and also “log out completely from the site once the transaction is over.”