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\". Note, the callers do not ask for your Card number; they
already have it.
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 that was issued by name
of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for £249.99 from a
Marketing company based in (name of any town or city)?\" 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
£150 to £249, just under the £250 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 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 £249.99 was charged to our card.
Long story made 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 cal! l 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 you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN 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 to 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.
