Latest Credit Card Scam !!

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J.R.
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Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by J.R. »

I can't vouch for the validity of this. I got it from a football site I use, and the poster is HIGHLY reliable. J.R.
"I've just received the following from my niece in Spain but suspect it could also happen over here.

Please be aware of the latest 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. 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 "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 Devicefor £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 .
Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each other, we protect each other."

It may be of use to someone ! J.R.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by michael scuffil »

I think what they really want is confirmation of the address. Finding the security number and linking it with the card is quite easy, any waiter can do that.

Actually, if they know the card number and think they know the address, it's a bit surprising they don't know the security number.

But it's a variation on the old theme: card-issuers NEVER get in touch to ask for information. Apart from the PIN (I mean the PIN, not the security code) they have it already.

Still, worth being prepared for.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by Jo »

From your friendly Snopeser :D :D .......

This one was true, though it was five years ago and the account given by the niece in Spain is a verbatim transcript of the account on Snopes that took place in the Midwest of the USA in 2003. So I doubt that it did really happen in Spain recently but what the heck.... Michael is right, be on your guard at all times. (Tempting fate that I will fall for something myself sooner or later :oops: )

Slight digression while we're on the subject..... my mother is a real innocent with debit cards. She only has one because it's a cheque guarantee card as well, although she has grudgingly realised that she has to use it as a debit card in some shops, and has learned her PIN.

She wanted to order something by phone a few months ago and then discovered they wouldn't accept COD. So the company asked her if she had a debit card, and why didn't she pay that way? She agreed, gave them all the details, and then, as she often does when she's not sure, she called me immediately afterward to check she hadn't done anything silly.

I told her it all sounded absolutely fine, but ended up with an arrrgggghhhh moment when she said "I wasn't quite sure whether it was ok, because they didn't ask me for my PIN. I thought they should have asked me for my PIN". "Noooooo mother, you NEVER give you PIN to anyone, ever".

"Oh, only I have to key it in when I use it in shops". "I know, but that's a machine, you never, ever, ever give your PIN to a person!!!!" "Oh. What a good thing you told me that, I didn't realise".

Does anyone else think sometimes aged parents shouldn't be allowed out on their own?? :roll: :roll:
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by michael scuffil »

Jo, tell me how you use a debit card by phone.

You can't debit the card, you can only debit the account. For that you don't need the card, only the account number and sort code. Apart from the PIN (which can't be used on the phone) the card contains no other info.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by englishangel »

I am amazed that any of us cope. I am a big SF fan and I have just been reading a book about time travel, not hundreds or thousands of years but even 50. Think of TVs then and now and where they are going, and computers. Even 40 years ago people were thinking that they would be confined to Universities. Our first one 12 years ago had 4Mb of RAM, we did take it back within the week to have it doubled. This story said it's not so much the physical changes as the societal changes that go along with it.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by Jo »

michael scuffil wrote:Jo, tell me how you use a debit card by phone.

You can't debit the card, you can only debit the account. For that you don't need the card, only the account number and sort code. Apart from the PIN (which can't be used on the phone) the card contains no other info.
Companies ask for the long card number on the front of the card and the expiry date as a minimum. Increasingly they also ask for the 3 digit security code on the back. I don't think I'd give my sort code and account number to sellers over the phone, although I take your point that it would equally well allow them to debit my account. But at least using a debit card shows how the account has been debited, and they should always follow up by sending the receipt slip anyway showing "card holder not present".
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by michael scuffil »

Then your debit cards work differently from ours in Germany. I don't think you need worry about giving your a/c number over the phone -- it's on every cheque you write (in UK people still seem to write cheques) and not exactly confidential.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by englishangel »

If you have an HSBC card the long number across the front includes your sort code and account number. Over the phone they ask foir the three digits on the back so they know the card is in your possession, and the first time you order they will only ship to the billing address. Also as YOU have called THEM, on your head be it.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by Sallz »

Not entirely related but I felt like ranting about a scam I was involved with the other week.

I was rung by a beauty/photograhy company saying I had been refered by a friend who's name they gave me. I was offered a days makeover and photo shoot for free, with no obligtion to buy the photos in exchange for refering two friends. I was told that they were calling me because I was one of my friends references and that she could vouch for the companies validity. I was asked what dates I would like, and the name and numbers of my two friends, as well as a friend who would come with me on the day. I was then charged a £6 booking fee/deposit which I was told would be refunded on the day. I was also assured that I wold be able to move the appointments up to a week before as I still hadn't recieved a timetable for my second semester.
After I got off the phone I discovered that my phone credit had gone from over £15 to £2.14. When I checked online I discovered that if I wanted to move or cancel the appointment I would loose my deposit and be billed £30 per person if I rang that week. If I wanted to move the appointment after a week of booking it, I would be charged the price of the appointment-£127 per person.
I decided to count my losses and cancelled the appointment via email, and rang my friends providing them with the number, telling them to ignore any calls. I also had a good rant at the one stupid enough not to realise what had happened.

Very unfair, especially as that particular programme was aimed at students.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by AndrewH »

Sallz wrote:Not entirely related but I felt like ranting about a scam I was involved with the other week.

I was rung by a beauty/photograhy company saying I had been refered by a friend who's name they gave me. I was offered a days makeover and photo shoot for free, with no obligtion to buy the photos in exchange for refering two friends. I was told that they were calling me because I was one of my friends references and that she could vouch for the companies validity. I was asked what dates I would like, and the name and numbers of my two friends, as well as a friend who would come with me on the day. I was then charged a £6 booking fee/deposit which I was told would be refunded on the day. I was also assured that I wold be able to move the appointments up to a week before as I still hadn't recieved a timetable for my second semester.
After I got off the phone I discovered that my phone credit had gone from over £15 to £2.14. When I checked online I discovered that if I wanted to move or cancel the appointment I would loose my deposit and be billed £30 per person if I rang that week. If I wanted to move the appointment after a week of booking it, I would be charged the price of the appointment-£127 per person.
I decided to count my losses and cancelled the appointment via email, and rang my friends providing them with the number, telling them to ignore any calls. I also had a good rant at the one stupid enough not to realise what had happened.

Very unfair, especially as that particular programme was aimed at students.
That sounds as if it might fall foul of the various distance selling rules. Try you local trading standards and see what they make of it!
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by Sallz »

I did look into it but it seems unlikely Il get anywhere as it wasn't a recorded call so its my word against thiers and the terms and conditions on the website.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by englishangel »

My daughter had a variant of this. She was stopped by a market researcher in Canterbury (student city) and asked about toiletries and beauty products and was told she would be put in for a draw for a free makeover and photoshoot. Lo and behold she won and was given a date in the Easter Holidays. She had to pay a £30.00 deposit per person (x2) which she did, and asked her best friend to go. Friend's Mum was sceptical and friend not being as bolshy as daughter refused so daughter took her twin brother. The result was a great makeover and over 100 shots from which they could choose nine pictures to be put on a disc for the £60.00 they had paid, order prints for extra, or get their money back. Result nine super pictures on a disc. Three each of them on their own, and three of them together. Whether this is the same thing as Sallz had or not, I don't know, I don't think Helen had to give any friends names but she did have to pay up-front whch she was prepared to do but I know a lot of students couldn't especially towards the end of the year. Also we live near London where the studio is so it was only a quick Tube trip.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by AndrewH »

Sallz wrote:I did look into it but it seems unlikely Il get anywhere as it wasn't a recorded call so its my word against thiers and the terms and conditions on the website.
see http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/ac ... 1074033669
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by kerrensimmonds »

Sally, that's a dreadful tale. Surely your mobile phone records will show that you had the call and surely someone like the Police could track it back to the other number?
It certainly does look as if the company contravened regulations - and either way they need to be stopped from abusing the trust of vulnerable people and taking money fraudulently.
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Re: Latest Credit Card Scam !!

Post by Sallz »

Thanks for the advise, Il look into it
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