VISA/MASTERCARD
SCAM
SCAM UPDATE -
21.02.04
Here’s
another swindle to look out for. It’s
a new scam by bogus mail order catalogue firms, according to London
based Trading Standards Office. In this one, the caller claims
you have an outstanding mail order clothes debt – perhaps
as little as £5 and says your credit card details are needed
to clear it. Do not give them your card details! Read
your comments
VISA/MASTERCARD SCAM
This is how it goes - it starts with a phone
call. The caller claims to work for the Security and Fraud Department
of VISA or Mastercard - gives his or her name and a badge number.
You’re told that your card has been “flagged up for
an unusual purchase pattern” and you’re asked if you’ve
bought an expensive item from a marketing company in America recently?
When you say no, you’re told they will be issuing you with
a credit to your account. And they read out your address to send
a statement.
By now you’re lulled into a sense of security and a belief
that you are in fact talking to a representative from your credit
card company. They tell you there’s going to be a fraud investigation
into this and you should ring the 0800 number on the back of your
card and you’re given a 6 digit number to quote if you have
any concerns.
This is when the scam starts because up till now, they’ve
asked you for nothing.
They ask you to turn your card over and confirm the last three
numbers – they say we don’t need the full number, we
have that on the system.
The trap is now set, because when they have these three numbers,
they can then shop on internet using your credit card, And you
won’t
know a thing about it till you get your next statement.
Many people are falling for this scam because it sounds as
if the caller is acting with your interests at heart.
On Your Behalf looks at the frauds, scams and con tricks – the
new ways criminals are stealing your card, because in three out
of four cases of theft by plastic, the cards themselves haven’t
actually gone missing. The Top 10
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The
secret skim |
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Cash card
trapping |
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The cold
call |
|
Identity
theft |
|
The card-not-present
scam |
|
Shoulder
surfing |
|
|
Old fashioned
theft or loss |
|
|
Phishing |
|
|
Stealing
your post |
|
|
Account
take over |
What can you do?
|
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Check
your statements |
|
|
Beware
of bin divers |
|
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Try not
to let your card out of your sight |
|
|
Don’t
let anyone else use your card |
|
|
Don’t
let anyone else use your card |
|
|
Always
put card receipts away safely |
|
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Never
tell anyone your PIN |
If you suspect your name and
address are being used by someone else, contact the Protective Registration
Service run by the CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service 0870
010 2091
Contact the Credit Reference Agencies
Experian 0870 241 6212
Equifax 0870 060 1414
Contact the protective registration service run by the CIFAS - The
UK's Fraud Prevention Service on 0870 010 2091
VISA CARD STATEMENT
Please be aware that Visa
never contacts cardholders directly requesting personal information
relating
to your Visa card. For
example, Visa would never ask you to confirm your Visa account
number, card expiration date, the last 3 digits printed on the
back of the Visa card (the Card Verification Value or “CVV” number)
or your ATM PIN number.
If you are the recipient of such an e-mail and you have any doubts
regarding the authenticity of it, please contact your card issuing
bank.
MASTERCARD STATEMENT
As MasterCard does not
issue credit cards itself only an issuing bank would ever deal directly
with, and telephone, card holders. Put another way, the banks issue
MasterCard cards and it is the banks that have the relationship
with card holders. Therefore any card holder who gets a so called
'fraud warning' call from MasterCard should be very suspicious,
end the call and contact the bank that issued them the credit card
for clarification. The correct telephone number can be found at
the top of each credit card statement.
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