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Investigations later showed his card was cloned at the petrol station’s machine and the PIN he entered was likely stolen during the failed transactions.
Sarthak Ahuja mentioned that the man never received the “transaction failed” messages. (Representative Image)
A viral video has warned against potential scams at petrol stations. In the Instagram clip, CA and finance influencer Sarthak Ahuja spoke about an incident where an Indian man allegedly lost over Rs one lakh after using his credit card at a petrol station.
Sarthak began his video by saying, “Don’t use your credit card to make payments at petrol pumps, and I will tell you exactly why.” He explained that the man was travelling intercity when he stopped to refuel his car.
He handed over his credit card for payment and entered his PIN but the transaction was declined. He tried again but it failed once again.
On the third attempt, the payment finally went through. But the man never received a “transaction declined” message for the first two failed attempts which should have raised suspicion.
A couple of weeks later, while the man was asleep, over a lakh was charged to his card. Investigations showed that his card was cloned at the petrol station’s machine and the PIN he entered was likely stolen during the failed transactions.
In the video’s caption, Sarthak shared some useful tips to help people avoid such scams. He advised against swiping your card at petrol pumps, ATMs or merchant stores especially if the card machine looks damaged. Using touchless payment methods like UPI or tap-and-pay is a safer option instead of swiping your card.
He also stressed the importance of checking for a “transaction declined” message on your registered SMS if a payment fails. If you don’t receive this message, it could mean your card has been cloned.
Sarthak further recommended disabling international payments on your card unless you are travelling abroad. This is because most fraudulent transactions made with cloned cards happen in foreign countries.
Take a look at the video here:
Social media users shared their varied opinions in the comment section where many recounted similar incidents that had happened to them.
One user commented, “That’s why UPI is always safer,” while another wrote, “Very knowledgeable.
A person shared, “Happened a few months ago at Giani’s Rajouri Garden. Complained and got the money reversed in a month and a half. You never think something like this would happen to you until it does.”
“Even tap payments are a bit risky because people are able to copy the credit card NFC reading and place it on another card to use it for themselves,” a viewer pointed out.
Another commented, “My card was skimmed and international payments are tried multiple times via Europe, US etc. However, I’ve disabled international transactions the minute I landed in India and luckily the bank noticed it and sent me a replacement card.”
Since being shared online, the video has accumulated more than three million views.
- Location :
Delhi, India, India
