The growth of online shopping and financial inclusion has dramatically increased the acceptance of credit cards among Filipinos. From being a relatively niche payment for high-income earners, credit cards have evolved and have since become thoroughly democratized, finding a role as an everyday payment method among a growing number of middle-class Philippine households.
For Filipino consumers, the main draw of modern credit cards is their blend of convenience, security, and rewards, which aren’t quite matched by competing digital payment methods. However, as more people turn to credit cards for daily transactions, cybercriminals are also innovating ways to exploit the technology’s vulnerabilities.
Credit card fraud has existed since the early days. However, today’s fraudsters have greatly expanded on their methods for stealing cardholder information, devising methods to illicitly gather sensitive data at tremendous scale. For that reason, cardholders must make sure they have the most recent or safest credit card, like the Landers Cashback Everywhere Credit Card by Maya, available to them.
One particularly sophisticated threat is the man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, where hackers intercept communication between users and financial institutions to steal sensitive information. Online, they typically do this by “spoofing” a legitimate website’s identity, hijacking user sessions, or stealing credentials to gain illegitimate access. They may also alter real card readers or present fake ones to steal card details.
Given the increasing sophistication and multiple angles employed in these attacks, cardholders must arm themselves with current knowledge to avoid becoming victims. Follow these tips to keep your card data and other sensitive details safe from unauthorized parties:
1) Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Financial Transactions
Unsecured public Wi-Fi networks are prime targets for cybercriminals executing MitM attacks. These networks offer fraudsters a wealth of opportunities to hijack your devices or copy your credentials, particularly if the network lacks any data encryption.
If you must access online banking or make payments on the go, always use a secure and private internet connection. Make sure to use a virtual private network (VPN) if public or shared networks are your only options for connectivity.
2) Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
While still essential, passwords alone are no longer enough. Fortunately, every layer of security you add deters hackers who are after easy wins. In addition to using stronger passwords, using proven effective authentication factors such as OTP or biometric authentication will reduce the chances of unauthorized access to your accounts.
3) Verify Website Authenticity and Security Before Entering Card Details
Some credit card thieves clone entire websites for the express purpose of taking your card details. Fortunately, these fake sites often have some “tells” that can tip you off to their origins, such as poor-quality navigation and sketchy URLs.
Speaking of URLs, never enter credit card information on websites that don’t have “https://“ in the URL, even if they’re legitimate. Data on older-generation “http://“ sites is unencrypted, making your data trivially easy for malicious parties to intercept. Remember to look for the “s” on “https://” to check if the site is secure.
4) Keep a Close Eye on Your Account Activity
Monitoring your transactions at least a couple of times weekly can help you detect unauthorized activity before it causes serious damage. As an added measure, you can enable real-time SMS and email alerts for all transactions so that you’re informed about any credit card activity that isn’t your own. Be sure to report suspicious transactions to your bank and card provider as soon as possible.
5) Avoid Outdated Technologies
As a rule, the older and more popular a technology is, the more likely it is that hackers have already developed ways to compromise it. Older devices, browsers, security software, and anything else that handles payments are especially appealing to hackers, so you must make sure that anything you use to handle payment data is reasonably new. Make sure to install security updates to software and firmware as they come along to make your data even harder to steal.
6) Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links
Many credit card thieves rely on social engineering efforts to gain access to your card data. They may send phishing emails or SMS messages containing malicious links that upload data-stealing malware to your device. They might even call your phone and pretend to be from your bank or card issuer to convince you to click on the link. Always be skeptical about these links and notify your bank when you see them. If someone does call, feel free to hang up if anything feels amiss.
7) Block Your Card and Contact Your Card Issuer If You Suspect Fraud
If you suspect that your credit card details have been compromised, use your card’s app to immediately block any further activity on your card. Next, report the issue to your issuer and request a card replacement. Doing these may result in some inconvenience, but they’re necessary steps to prevent worse financial losses.
Don’t Let the Middlemen Win—Secure Your Credit Card Today
As more Filipinos adopt credit cards for their day-to-day purchases, hackers will become more incentivized to target these payments. Man-in-the-middle attacks are likely to be a priority for malicious parties, as MITM attacks can be easily scaled to compromise thousands of accounts with minimal effort.
The security measures listed above should be able to thwart most MITM attacks. Still, there is no substitute for proactively guarding your card details. It helps to keep an eye out on wider developments in credit card payments and follow your card provider for advisories on the latest hacking attempts. Take control of your financial security by always ensuring your card details are secure before you make your next purchase.
