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The mail and the Internet are major routes for fraud against merchants who sell and ship products, as well Internet merchants who provide online services. In this, fraudster presents stolen card information by indirect means, whether by mail, telephone or over the Internet to merchant site and orders the delivery of goods of lower value to avoid suspicion

Application fraud occurs when criminals use stolen or fake documents to open an account in someone else's name. Criminals may try to steal documents such as utility bills and bank statements to build up useful personal information. Alternatively, they may create counterfeit documents.

Account takeover involves a criminal trying to take over another person's account, first by gathering information about the intended victim, then contacting their bank or credit issuer — masquerading as the genuine cardholder — asking for mail to be redirected to a new address. The criminal then reports the card lost and asks for a replacement to be sent. The replacement card is then used fraudulently.

 Some merchants added a new practice to protect consumers and self reputation, where they ask the buyer to send a copy of the physical card and statement to ensure the legitimate usage of a card.

Skimming is the theft of credit card information used in an otherwise legitimate transaction. It is typically an "inside job" by a dishonest employee of a legitimate merchant, and can be as simple as photocopying of receipts. Common scenarios for skimming are restaurants or bars where the skimmer has possession of the victim's credit card out of their immediate view. The skimmer will typically use a small keypad to unobtrusively transcribe the 3 or 4 digit Card Security Code which is not present on the magnetic strip.

Instances of skimming have been reported where the perpetrator has put a device over the card slot of a public cash machine (automated teller machine), which reads the magnetic strip as the user unknowingly passes their card through it. These devices are often used in conjunction with a pinhole camera to read the user's PIN at the same time.

A card's magnetic strip has the basic details of the cardholder. But the card also comes with a blank space for you to sign in. You must sign on the card to avoid unauthorized use.

During the online transactions, check if the web address starts with HTTPS, which ensures the encryption of all important data.

Thoroughly check the authenticity of the firm, the website, or any other transactional society where your money would be flowing through.

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When you type your PIN number at an ATM, make sure that you sufficiently obscure the keypad from being viewed by an onlooker

NEVER let the shopkeeper take your debit card out of your sight. There is no need for him/her to do so, unless he/she intends to do something unlawful.

ALWAYS destroy the receipts from merchants that you no longer require, especially when you have paid for using your debit card.

If you do not receive your debit card or PIN number from the bank within a reasonable amount of time after requesting one, check with the bank when it was sent and when you should expect to receive it. It may have been picked up by someone else in transit.

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Using ATM machine

If you notice something suspicious about the card slot on an ATM (like an attached device), do not use it and report it to the responsible authorities.

Beware of your surroundings while withdrawing money at ATM centers. Do not crumple and throw away the transaction slips or debt card memos: read them, make a mental note of the details and then, either tear them or shred them to trash.

Periodically check your account balances on Internet or by requesting your bank or credit card company to send you statements to ensure that no transactions are happening behind your back.

While entering any personal identification numbers, use your discretion to shield the keypad so that your hand movements are not very visible and you enter your passwords secretly.

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