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baggaley bears Dec 5, 2007

I don't know if any of you know that my hubby runs a chain of nightclubs, anyway he deals a lot with the police and they sent him this email. Its authentic and i thought i would give you all a heads up

Hugs
Vicki  :hug:

Subject: NEW CREDIT CARD SCAM
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. By understanding how the VISA &
MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

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 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 0800 number listed on the back of your card (0800-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 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 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. 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 MasterCard 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 Thursday, 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 .

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner SponsorDec 5, 2007

Thanks much, Vicki.

Barling Bears Dec 5, 2007

Hi Vicki

Thank you so much for passing this information on - I would probably have been one of those who would have been fooled if they caught me "on the hop".  I will pass this on to my friends too.

Hugs

Marilyn

BootButtonBears Dec 6, 2007

Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about this Vicky.  It is great when you are aware of these things and so know what action to take.

rkr4cds Dec 6, 2007

Ummmm..... I may be missing something here, and would NEVER rain on anyone's parade, Vickie, but aren't CC #s International? And they are 16 digits long? With VISA staring with 4s and MC with 5s?

That has been my experience, and every international order I've gotten has followed that pattern. Here in the States, VISA cards issued here have an extra set of 3 numbers on the back; those are the Verification code. Let me check with Snopes...

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp

OK, glad I checked. Me, the cynic. It does happen sometimes. Never give ANYONE ANY INFO in any transaction that you don't intitiate!! Phone, online, fax, at your front door! NEVER, EVER unless you make the call or the visit yourself!!!!!

That alone will keep us out of trouble.

karenaus Dec 6, 2007

Ummmm..... I may be missing something here, and would NEVER rain on anyone's parade, Vickie, but aren't CC #s International? And they are 16 digits long? With VISA staring with 4s and MC with 5s?

That has been my experience, and every international order I've gotten has followed that pattern. Here in the States, VISA cards issued here have an extra set of 3 numbers on the back; those are the Verification code

I would suspect  they already have the 16 card numbers from the front, as well as your name and billing address (hence having your phone number), they just need the CVV number from the back to complete the info so they can go wild with your card, which is the only thing they seem to be asking for. Sounds like it might be quite easy to get caught tho, if the scammer is confident enough, and you were distracted by the worry of having your card compromised.
   I wonder how long the CVV number is going to be a useful security feature since surely the more you use it  the less secure it must become. Or if someone swipes your card when its out of your sight, they could easy copy the CVV # as well

katiecountrymouse1 Dec 6, 2007

Thanks for that Vickie, I wouldn't give out information over the phone but hubby would have done .Well done to you! :clap:  :clap:
Love Kayx.

puca bears Dec 6, 2007

Thanks for posting this, Vicki.........it's particularly sneaky, and I bet quite a few people get sucked in........NASTY!

huggies
Maria

mingrul Dec 7, 2007

thanks vicki for this update... at times without realizing it, you give the information without thinking. but since you inform us, this will prompt us to be more alert of this situations.. and your right, the cc company does have all the information they need, its just the spare of the moment, you wont realized it....