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. I received the following by email…
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 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!
January 18th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
The best guideline to follow is to NEVER give any information to someone that is calling you. It doesn’t matter what it is. No matter what that information is, they don’t need it. Your phone number is enough for them to get any publicly available information like your address. You don’t need to give anyone any such information if they called or contacted you. Even a bill collector. Thank them for the information and then you contact the creditor yourself to make the payment.
January 18th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
@SuperSparky – Sound advice!
January 18th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
We had an interesting experience the other week.
We got a phone call on our mobile. I answered and automated voice said something like “This is a security announcement for press any key to continue.” After the event we thought “hmmm, shouldn’t have pressed that” – you hear about people getting long distance call charges from such things.
Anyway, after pressing the voice continues: “This is a security announcement for . Please call us on “.
The phone number is the same as the one that the call appears to originate from.
Isn’t this all a bit suspicious – some random, never been seen before, number phones you, knows your name and your bank but wants you to phone it back presumably with your bank details?
We phoned our bank. They didn’t recognise the number but the fraud dept was closed – even more odd – but gave us a number for the fraud dept.
We phoned the fraud number given to us and lo’ yes – they had phoned us, and apparently the number we phoned back would only ask for a few digits from the date of birth to verify us … but, hold on – how on earth could we verify them when they’re contacting us on a number that even their own customer services didn’t recognise?
All in all – very poor in my opinion. If the banks are encouraging you to phone back random phone numbers giving away personal information then we’re in trouble.
They should have told us to phone the number on the back of our card, or on their website or in the phonebook.
January 18th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Christ! I guess it’s becoming more common and believable. If the divide between how banks verify you and how fraudsters con you is minute then I guess these scams may catch even the most vigilant person out.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Hey, thanks for sharing. You should have a plugin that allows you to send stories to friends. This would be a good one to send to family.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Good general advice but don’t panic – see http://www.hoax-slayer.com/card-security-code-scam.html for more details. I usually tend to be slightly suspicious of any e-mail urging me to “tell all my friends” – they may be well meant but it’s stil spam.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:09 am
Better advice would be to go back to using cash only and stop using Credit cards altogether just don’t forget to close the accounts. I’m almost there myself.
February 19th, 2009 at 6:36 am
you could also screw around with the person, if you’re suspicious just make up a 3 digit number that isn’t your card number, see how they react, then take appropriate action from there
February 19th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Very good idea. If they are indeed verifying it, they’ll know it’s wrong…you can claim you’ve mis-read it, and give the right one. If they’re scamming you, they won’t know the difference.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:23 am
How did they get the credit card number in the first place?
They would already need to know the persons name, credit card type, and number along with their home phone number to pull this scam off. The real question is where are they getting that information & how do you avoid that from happening.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm
dude and another: they probably have web connection, and just type the 3-digit code you give them directly to order the item they want, so they also know immediately the number is wrong.
March 4th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Hi, This “scam” was reported as early as 2004 on the BBC website. If you do a google you will find that there are many people with EXACTLY the same events….even ‘Jason Richardson’ still seems to have a job at mastercard.
Anyway, the best advice is not to give out any personal details!
March 4th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Here’s the BBC link from way back.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/oyb/too_good/visa_mastercard_scam.shtml
regards
L
March 4th, 2009 at 10:15 am
@Lynnden
Thanks for your comments. I must say you have your ears pinned closely to the ground, it’s great you are aware of this scam. Unfortunately people are still getting stung by it today, including a close relative of mine so it’s worth the awareness for these less savvy, unguarded people who could fall fool. I do hope others spread the word about it as it’s a subject that needs it. I’m sure you’ll agree.
March 20th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I think if people are stupid enough to fall for this then they deserve to be ripped off. With all the media attention on current affairs shows about people being ripped off, you’d think people would think twice before giving any information over the phone or internet. Here’s some hints –
1) If you didn’t buy a ticket in a lottery, you can’t win it. No lottery is going to give out free tickets, ticket sales are how they generate the prize money. It’s simple logistics.
2) If you don’t know anyone in Nigeria, why do you think they would contact you offering you money, especially someone who is apparently related to the king.
3) Read the tems and conditions that you sign when you open a bank account and you’ll see that it will state that they never ask you for personal information.
People are getting ripped off because they are lazy and/or stupid so sucked in I say.
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
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