New credit card scam...Be careful
 

Just got this email from a good friend of mine in the law enforcement field, Give it a good read, this one is crafty......

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I got this from a Detective friend in Old Bridge. Checked out through Snopes too.

Pass it on.
-Rick



New Credit Card Scam



This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU 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 Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: '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 Arizona ?'

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 sent to (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 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security.'

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=2 0you 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 to20make 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 t he 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 on Wednesday, 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. V ISA 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 i t 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 y ou 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=2 0and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' 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.

Thanks bud! I'll pass this on!

Interesting read! Though I am up in Canada, I'll have to watch myself just incase.

Thanks for the info, to the top.

Yep, this one has been going around for a long time.

The basic rule of thumb to avoid all of these scams is that when someone calls you saying there is a problem with your account or that they need to verify information or WHATEVER THE CASE IS, you say "Thanks, I'll call back in a few minutes to deal with it, I am in the middle of an important meeting." and before they get another word in edgewise you disconnect the call without waiting for a response. Then, you call a number you know to be the companies (i.e. not the one on Caller ID or whatever - but one from your card or your statement or whatever) and ask what the deal is.

Anytime anyone calls you about a problem with your accounts, the little red flag should go to the top of the pole and the warning buzzer should go off and the red light should flash in your head. Companies don't waste the time or money to have people proactively monitor your accounts for anything. 99 times out of 100, any call you get of this nature is a SCAM. They wait for you to call customer service with your problems, they don't go looking for problems to fix. If the communication comes by e-mail, fax, instant message, whatever else, same thing. You call the bank or whatever at a number you get off your statement, not the number they tell you to call in the message.

Also, it should be noted that this scam is really pretty stupid. The security code on the back of your card really does not protect you at all. A few merchants have put in place fraud filters to deny all transactions where the CVV is not a positive match. The con artist already had your information and could have charged whatever to your card at another merchant had they tried. So, if you get the call, report the card stolen regardless of if you coughed up the number or not.

While that may or may not be standard practice, I can tell you that twice in the last month, Discover card has called and left a fraud message for me as well as e-mailed me and once frozen my card because of changes in my spending pattern. In both cases, I ignored the phone number that they left, called the number on the back of the card, got transferred to their fraud prevention department, talked to a rep and found that it was not a scam but that their system had flagged activity on my account that was legitimate but was out of pattern for me. Once I verified that I had made those charges and that I still had my card, they unflagged my account, I thanked them for watching out for me, and we went on with business as usual. All that to say, some companies DO watch for non-standard patterns of spending.