Bangalore:
Billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla has reportedly become the latest victim of credit card fraud. Mr Birla's credit card was cloned and used for a number of costly transactions in Bangalore.
According to an FIR filed with the Mumbai Police, Mr Birla's credit card was used to buy electronic gadgets and jewellery worth Rs 2.86 lakh. Mr Birla came to know about the fraud only when he received his monthly account statement. Mr Birla was present in Mumbai when these transactions took place.
Mr Birla is the Chairman of the $35 billion Aditya Birla Group, a global conglomerate with operations spanning 33 countries.
What is credit card cloning?
Credit card cloning is a technique through which someone obtains your credit card details, copies them onto a bogus card and begins using the credit card.
A pocketsize device with a scanning slot resembling a pager is used to clone cards. The process takes only a few seconds it can be done easily.
Swiping the credit card through the device copies the information held on the magnetic strip into memory. That information can subsequently be copied to a counterfeit card, complete with security holograms.