How to delete bank card data from Wildberries: it won’t work without an official request

Russians who prefer to buy goods on well-known marketplaces, including the recently infamous Wildberries (either mass fights or destructive fires), have become wary of linking bank cards to their personal accounts in online stores. Fears are primarily associated with automatic debiting of funds, as well as loss of personal data and forced blocking of cards. Experts told MK whether it is possible to unlink a card from Wildberries so that its data is completely deleted.

Marat Safiulin, manager of the Federal Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Depositors and Shareholders, expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation:

“There are too many signals that money is being lost through cards linked to Wildberries personal accounts to attribute this to a coincidence. In addition, information has repeatedly appeared about hacking of online marketplace resources. All this should alert site users and make them more vigilant.

The scale of the business is truly impressive – more than 1 trillion rubles in trade turnover. A rich company should seem to worry about the financial security of its customers. But this is perhaps one of the few cases where we did not find a single warning on the website of such a giant company about the risks of fraud or technical errors when using the service.

This is strange, since there are a huge number of scammers hanging around the country’s largest virtual market. There is a problem with fake websites that are designed to match the Wildberries corporate identity and use its name. Finally, there are risks associated with the imperfection of the trading giant’s software and hardware complex itself. There are regularly reports of repeated write-offs and that payments made are not reflected for a long time. Of course, almost always these problems are quickly resolved with the help of the support service of the marketplace itself. However, some clients claim that Wildberries initiates repeated write-offs on purpose.

One of the simple solutions that can secure your activity in Wildberries is to issue a special virtual card to link to your personal account. Set a limit for this card in the amount of 1 ruble. And when you need to purchase a product, top up your card with the purchase amount. In this case, you will be protected both from scammers and from possible errors and technical failures in the company itself.”

Anastasia Chumak, co-head of investor rights protection practice at Intercession:

“It makes sense to have a separate card for paying on marketplaces and top it up with exactly the amount for which you plan to place an order. This is why all major marketplaces issue their own cards. It is logical to top up the balances of these cards for making specific purchases. This will provide both discounts and additional security.

In general terms: is it dangerous to link a card to a marketplace? This is relatively safe if you maintain digital hygiene – watch what links you follow, use two-factor authentication if possible, do not set up auto-replenishment of a card that is linked to the marketplace (ideally, create a separate one for online purchases and top up as needed). You also need to be careful when entering your card details. We are used to the fact that it is convenient. But, in addition to convenience, do not forget about care and additional precautions. Do not enable auto-replenishment; wherever possible, leave or enable additional authentication during payment. SMS, push notification – whatever. Yes, it will be less convenient, but this is the price of security.

Does the company have the right to save card data that the user has deleted from his personal profile and charge funds from it? Technically, of course, this is possible. But the marketplace does not have the right to use card data that the user has chosen to delete. If a conflict occurs between the user and the marketplace, it can be resolved in court. And then, in the event of a court decision, the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) can recover funds from debit cards. But not credit, since these funds are borrowed. Storing data that the user has chosen to delete is unacceptable according to the law on personal data.

Now let’s talk about how to unlink the card. This must be done technically through your personal account. To be sure, you can write a statement in the format of an official request to the company. At the same time, it is necessary to record the fact of sending such an application in case of a conflict situation with the marketplace.”

Sergey Lipov, Director of Information Technology, EdgeCenter: “Linking a card to an account may lead to automatic debiting of funds in the event of unforeseen circumstances or errors in the system. In addition, if account data is leaked or stolen, fraudsters can gain access to the linked bank card.

Reports of problems with linking cards to your Wildberries personal account may be associated both with the actions of the FAS and with real security risks. It is possible that genuine safety issues have come to the attention of the regulator, leading to increased scrutiny.

The ability to charge a credit card that has been removed from the application could be due to several factors. It is possible that the card details were saved in the system due to previous transactions and were used for automatic payment. This could also be due to a bug in the system. It is important to understand that according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, the company does not have the right to store bank card data without the client’s consent. If your data has been used without your permission, this may be a violation.

To completely remove card data from Wildberries, you should contact service support. Technically, the card information should be completely removed from the system immediately after it is removed from your profile.”

As for advice for consumers, here are some recommendations:

1. Use virtual cards for online purchases. This will reduce the risk of fraud, since even in the event of a data leak, there will be a limited amount of funds on the card.

2. Check your banking transactions regularly. If you notice unknown charges, contact your bank immediately.

3. Use complex and unique passwords for each online service. This will reduce the likelihood of your account being hacked.