A new credit card scam

22 Jan 2009

Not sure if its another one of those scaremonger type stories but best to let folk know so they can make up their own minds....
Lifted from another forum I use...
Latest credit card scam.
Please pass this on to everyone you know...
This one is pretty slick since they provide Y O U with all the information,
Except the one piece they want. Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to
Protect yourself.
One of our employees was called on Wednesday from"VISA", and I was called on Friday from "MasterCard".
The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number
is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by
(name of bank) did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for a Marketing company based in London ?" When you say
"No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from £297 to £497, just under the £500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be applied to your account. I just need to confirm your address (gives you your address), is that correct?"
You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the number listed on the back of your card and ask for the Security & Fraud Department.
You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"
Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works the caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card." He'll ask
You to "turn your card over and look for some numbers." There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say, "No," the caller then thanks you and
States,"Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up.
You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called, we called back within 20
minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of
was charged to our card.
Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN
number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by
Then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.
What makes this more remarkable is that on Friday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the
VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several
of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.
Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each other, we protect each other.

22 Jan 2009

Duly noted and will be on our guard - thanks Steve - do you mind if I copy all of the relevant bits and put it about a bit?

22 Jan 2009

Quote by Lost
Duly noted and will be on our guard - thanks Steve - do you mind if I copy all of the relevant bits and put it about a bit?

Copy away :-)
As I say I'm unsure how true it is but I thought it worth telling people anyway :thumbup:

22 Jan 2009

We recieved that internally about a year ago from our audit department to warn us.
Another one that does happen is the scammers come into the building you work and steal handbags/wallets left lying about. Within 15 minutes they call you as the credit card company fraud squad and tell you that a £2500 purchase has just occured (higher the figure then better the reaction of the person who has just had the card stolen).
At this point your arse falls out and you panic. They then go through the same patter as above but do ask for the PIN number for verification. After that then your account is emptied or credit purchasers are put on within minutes. This has happened 3 times where I work, but only 1 ever gave their PIN out. It is a numbers game for them, someone will eventually give it.
When this first happened I asked how did they know your phone number? They called reception, gave the name off the credit card and got through to them :doh:
We have now installed a few grands worth of CCTV and have a lovely picture of someone coming in just when a wallet went missing. Police said it only proves he entered the building and not that he took it. So unless they find the wallet or card on him he has committed no crime.
Dave_Notts

23 Jan 2009

Only a couple of days ago I had a call from someone purporting to be from the Halifax Bank. It was a female with an Irish accent and she sounded like she was reading from a call centre type stated my name and address asking me to confirm this which I did. She then told me as a customer of Halifax bank(which I was)and as I had applied for a mortgage and been approved(which I had but not with the Halifax)I was entitled to some special offers for preferential customers. But, for security reasons, she needed to verify some details, she asked me my date of birth which I gave her and she then asked me to confirm the balance in my account ...at this point I said I wasn't prepared to release details of my account to someone who has just made an unsolicited phonecall; to which the woman said ok thats fine but we cannot continue any further as we cannot verify you .
I am convinced that this was a scam and they were harvesting information to allow them to empty my account.

23 Jan 2009

Quote by niceguysdoexist
Only a couple of days ago I had a call from someone purporting to be from the Halifax Bank. It was a female with an Irish accent and she sounded like she was reading from a call centre type stated my name and address asking me to confirm this which I did. She then told me as a customer of Halifax bank(which I was)and as I had applied for a mortgage and been approved(which I had but not with the Halifax)I was entitled to some special offers for preferential customers. But, for security reasons, she needed to verify some details, she asked me my date of birth which I gave her and she then asked me to confirm the balance in my account ...at this point I said I wasn't prepared to release details of my account to someone who has just made an unsolicited phonecall; to which the woman said ok thats fine but we cannot continue any further as we cannot verify you .
I am convinced that this was a scam and they were harvesting information to allow them to empty my account.

We have our morgage company call us and ask for us to confirm who we are, we always say the same thing.
You phoned us why do we need to comfirm who we are?
They always respond with the same reply we can not proceed further.
We then just tell them we will call them back, then we would be happy to disclose information.

24 Jan 2009

This particular e-mail has been doing the rounds since December 2003, and is detailed here:

The UK version is almost word for word the same as the US one, with the $ signs changed to £ but the amounts unchanged.
While this particular e-mail is just a scaremongering one which has been made up, the message we should take from it is valid - which is to be on your guard at all times and not give out your personal details to anyone who cold calls.
Paul.

25 Jan 2009

So how do i do it again? i am a needy scouser lol