32 lakh ATM cards compromised: Do it yourself and secure yours


More than 3.2 million debit card PINs have been compromised after a serious banking security breach. Many renowned Indian banks have been affected by this breach. The incident happened in such a time when banking sector, around the globe, is evolving at a very rapid pace and banks are encouraging customers to adapt online banking solutions. It is indeed that banks do their best to protect financial and personal information of customers but such security threats put question mark on banks’ security systems.

debit cards
Authorities are working hard to curb further loose and to nab culprits, meanwhile, banks are sending advisories to customers to change debit card PIN numbers as soon as possible.

Many banks have observed that a large percentage of customers are not taking this matter seriously and not changing their PINs, therefore, all suspected cards are being blocked or recalled by the lenders. However, banks want RBI to intervene in this matter and make some new directives, probably because as per RBI guidelines lenders cannot force customers to change security passwords like ATM PIN, online transaction passwords, and the like, to cope with the situation.

It is always advisable that everyone should change his or her debit card PIN regularly but many of us do not take it seriously unless someone accesses our financial data.
A small and proactive move can safe you against being victim of cyber attack or the like. Before writing this post, I also had rushed to nearest ATM even though my bank accounts hardly fulfill minimum operating norms (just kidding!) but probably you must have decent amount in your account so what are you waiting for. Rush to nearest ATM and immediately change your ATM PIN number to protect your hard earned money.
What should you do now?
You should immediately change your debit-cum-ATM PIN; and also change your internet banking password (if activated) and profile password.
Next time when you use a debit card then must take safety measures advised by your bank (Read “Safety Tips While Using ATM.”)

How to Change ATM-cum-Debit Card PIN?

To change your debit card, you can perform steps given below at an ATM machine.
  • Swipe your card at an ATM machine.
  • Select Change ATM PIN option; you can find this option directly on first page of the ATM machine e.g. swipe card>select change ATM PIN, or you may have to select ‘other services’ e.g. Swipe card>other services>change ATM PIN, or in some ATMs you can find this option in ‘Banking’ section e.g. swipe card>banking>change ATM PIN.
  • Upon selecting the option, you will be asked to enter your old PIN followed by new PIN.
  • In the next step, you will get a receipt along with reference id.

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