Hi Everyone, this was on my school community website and thought it might be useful to share it with the nepali community. If you do get a call like this, for precautionary reasons just tell them you will call them back in a few minutes and call your credit card company to confirm. Below are the details of the fraud.
A social engineering technique to steal cr. card nos.
Summary : Don't give cr. card to any-one on phone or email, when you have not initiated the phone or dialouge.
BEWARE NEW CREDIT CARD SCAM
>
>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.
>
>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 of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing 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 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 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 call 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 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 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.
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Recently spam emails in name of Paypal were also circulated asking for your credentials of paypal accounts. Paypal confirmed it to be a fraud.
Hope that helps.
