CARD SCAM
Dear members
Below is the text of a message sent to me by a co-ordinator that happened his colleague.
The scam appears very plausable if you read it, as there are numerous ways thieves can obtain the front details of cards( dodgy shop staff, workers at premises that deal with internet payments of goods etc. etc )
The only thing I cannot work out is how the caller was able to marry up the card holders details with a phone number and address of that person !, other than that it appears genuine.( possibly dodgy staff who have posted goods to you after a internet purchase?)
The moral of the tale is that you ALWAYS have to be carefull of callers asking for bank details, NO MATTER HOW GENUINE THEY APPEAR TO BE.
Regards
Simon Bullen
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
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. ( This is clever as they hope that you do not need to phone back in the next few minutes, and gives a sense of legitimacy to the caller)
You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number.
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 the 3 digit security number. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.
He says ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have the card in your possesion.
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! .
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.
We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!
***********************************************************************************
“Be safe, feel safe with Staffordshire Police - one of the country’s top forces, delivering quality policing
