Devious psychological tricks

This is an emergency: Contact us immediately! That is how a phishing message might appear. Card fraudsters are in fact increasingly using devious psychological tricks to manipulate their victims: Curiosity, fear and panic prevent clear thinking and tempt victims into responding to such messages.

This can have catastrophic consequences. Often it concerns supposedly outstanding payments that demand immediate settlement - these may be for the victim themselves or for a relative or someone they know. The requirement is then in a hurry to communicate card details such as the CVV or confirmation code.

Only later does the victim realise that they have authorised a payment or even activated a new payment system. You have fallen for a scam. Such actions are deemed to constitute grossly negligent behaviour, so the victim is denied recourse to reclaim the funds.

You can find out how to avoid card crime at https://www.card-security.ch/en/types-of-fraud/