credit card scam

[e_racer1999]

just read this on another forum i am on:

Subject: Credit Card Scam

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VISA & MASTERCARD Telephone Credit Card This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Mastercard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself. Thanks to Dr. Pat Cloney for passing this on. Those con artists get more creative every day. My husband 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> bank. Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing ting Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona?" 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 1-800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control #" 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, "he needs 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 your card number, the next 3 are the 'Security Numbers' that verify you are in possession of the card. These are the numbers you use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. Read me the 3 numbers". 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 minute s 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 charge on our card. Long story made short, we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA card, and they are reissuing us a new number. What the scammers wants 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 Master card direct. 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 to late and/or harder 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 friends. By informing each other, we protect each other.

[panchovisa]

Thanks for the heads up, will let my wife know also.

[jmortensen]

I used to work in Risk Management for one of the largest credit card processors in the country. The number on the back of your card is a CID (Card Identification) number, not a pin number. It is there as an additional security feature. The 16 digit (15 in the case of AMEX) credit card number is produced with a logorithm and credit card scammers have figured out what the logorithms are. You can get programs where you can plug in a legit credit card number and the program will start throwing out the next numbers in the sequence, which is one of the primary methods for credit card scammers to get numbers.

The CID number is produced with a DIFFERENT logorithm and is used as an additional measure of security. I no longer work for Risk Management, and I am now a merchant who processes credit cards in a mail order business. I can tell you that if I do a mail order transaction I get that CID number from the cardholder as an additional guarantee that they are indeed the cardholder, and they are indeed in posession of their credit card.

Basically as it stands now I've got these verification measures in place:

I can verify that the number is legit, and that the expiration date is correct.

I can verify the first five NUMBERS in the street address and the zip code.

I can verify the CID number.

If I do all of these things, I am much less likely to encounter fraud. Sometimes I can actually get a lower percentage fee from the credit card by doing all of them (I think Discover is the card that does this).

Here is some information on this number, which Visa calls a CVV2 number, and it's real purpose. It is not a pin number, and by itself will not gain a scammer any benefit in and of itself. However, if a scammer has grabbed your credit card statement from your mailbox and has tried to use it thru a merchant like myself who requires that number, it is conceivable that they might try to get the number in order to complete whatever fraudulent purchase they're trying to make.

Visa Website - Card Not Present

Every once in a while I'll get a person who ABSOLUTELY REFUSES to give me the CID number on their card. Now I have to wonder if they've seen an email like the one that started this thread.

Jon

[e_racer1999]

^^awesome..... ya, thought i would share

[Mr Camouflage]

You gotta be pretty dumb to fall for that one. You read me the three numbers and i'll tell you if you are correct? I'd be repling no, you read tell me the three numbers off you computer record, and i'll tell you if they match the card.

Actually the phonecall wouln't even get that far. I'd get the persons name and number, then say I have to verify their identity, by hanging up and calling visa, or master card and asking to be put through to the fraud prevention department to talk to the person.

Then if they dont exist, you tell them the name and the number they gave you and let them call the police and sort it out.

[sblake01]

Yep, I've blown that type of call off a few times in the last few months. Anyone asking for your security code over the phone is a scammer, plain and simple. Enough people must fall for that because it seems to have been going on for some time now and I'm sure their call back number is not legit and can't be traced. Just hang up!

[panchovisa]

Obviously that Doctor is pretty dumb. NOT! It's so easy to "know" what to do after somebody has told you what NOT to do.

How about just being glad someone spent the time to let you know what you already "knew". Just say thanks.

[sblake01]

Good point, Panchovisa.

[1 Bravo 6]

There must be a lot of bloody gullible people out there in the big wide world.

Glad to see that you passed that one on Jason, You just MIGHT have saved someone from getting caught by the bloody scammers.

That scam has been doing the rounds here in the Land Down Under for some time now.

No way they'd get any info out of me.

Heck, I don't even answer all the census questions truthfully.

Rick.

:devious: :devious: :devious:

[Mr Camouflage]

As Forest Gumps mother always says

"stupid is as stupid does"

[Mike]

I wouldn't even let them get past, "Hello, this is <name> from VISA".... I would hang up. There is no reason they will be calling you. Unless, of course, you're late on a payment.

[jmortensen]

I wouldn't even let them get past, "Hello, this is <name> from VISA".... I would hang up. There is no reason they will be calling you. Unless, of course, you're late on a payment.

This isn't a good idea. Your credit card company will call you when you have unusual charges. I use one of my credit cards for business and they are always calling me to verify transactions. They won't ever ask you for your whole credit card number, but they might verify it with the last 4 digits or something like that. Then they'll say "We had an unusual charge for $5000 from Joe's House of Brie" or whatever it is and they'll ask you to verify the charges. If you just hang up on them, they will SHUT YOUR CARD OFF until you contact them.

If you really want to know what to look out for, don't trust me, or Mike, or eracer99. Go to citibank.com or mbna.com or visa.com or mastercard.com and read their warnings. This speculative BS on the internet is really annoying. This whole thing started from the equivalent of a chain letter and here we are 10 posts later still stuck on the thread, despite the fact that the original post was BS. Come on people, just say no. Just let this one die.