Be Aware-New Card Scam

[dorsetbob]

All,
I received this yesterday from a friend and then by spooky coincidence he actually had a call early yesterday evening. He reported it to his
card provider and they confirmed that they have been seeing a fair few instances of this. Be aware and pass on to your friends and
family.......

BE ALERT

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 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 £497.99 from 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 £497.99 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.

Regards,


Bob

 

[guest]

Well thankyou for this - It does seem plausible and I shall certainly take note.

 

[guest poster]

............


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 £497.99 was charged to our card.

If anyone rings you like that.... start asking them questions and make sure that you are the one that calls the company before giving them any info.

you could go along with it ... give them nothing .......but the wrong 3 digit number.... while reporting it on another phone.

 

[dig deep]

Just hang up

The (Visa or any other card company) would ever try this.

 

[Topper]

Well it is a well known scam not a new one but does seem to be quite prolific at the moment, I suspect someone has got hold of a 'lost' database courtesy of a government department.

To have a blanket rule of not answering or hanging up could in fact be detrimental to you as with my Mastercard through the RBS, I have this set up in such a way so that, any out of the ordinary purchase is blocked via the PDQ/chip and pin machine and the store then has to ring for voice authorisation and I get the chance to verify myself to the operator. At the same time as this is happening it is flagged up to my bank and the bank rings me on my mobile to ask if I am attempting to authorise an amount of £xxxx. So I was talking to the auth centre with a phone on one ear and my bank on my mobile with the other ear. I only know this as in December it happened to me when putting a deposit down on a 2nd hand car at a local garage. However I feel more secure in making transactions knowing that it is being monitored in this way.

I do agree however that an out of the blue call where you are not actually attempting to purchase an item yourself, is more than likely fraudulent