The National Cards Group (NCG) and the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) launched the Think Online Safety, Think C.A.R.D. campaign in October. The nationwide campaign aims at educating consumers in the use of payment cards and non-cash payment systems.

The simple acronym C.A.R.D. stands for Confirm, Authenticate, Re-verify and Detect. Consumers are reminded to confirm that their information is confidential, that is, not to store login details on public or shared computers, and to change passwords regularly. They can also authenticate the websites they use by looking for secure signs, such as the MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa logos.

The next step is to re-verify their transactions. All secured sites will prompt users for a one-time password for all online transactions. Lastly, they will be taught to detect potential fraud by contacting banks if they receive any suspicious SMS messages.

The campaign, which runs for two months, will be carried out in the Klang Valley. This month, it will be held in the following places: Publika (Nov 7-9), Paradigm Mall (Nov 14-16), Tropicana City Mall (Nov 21-23) and Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia (Nov 27).