These scam artists should be arrested for stupidity
Jun 27 '00
I received a call one night. An earnest and honest sounding young gentleman calling to inform me that he was speaking on behalf of Visa and MasterCard and wanted to advise me that the method for reporting credit card fraud had changed. I raised a brow and offered a noncommittal "Uh-huh, go ahead." I was then told that American Credit Fraud would now be handling this service for these major credit card companies and it was imperative that I verify my phone number and address so that he could send me the new 800 number I was to report fraud to.
My lip twitched as he recited my name and address to me in a confident and authoritative tone, information which could be obtained from any phone book. I let him continue after verifying this information, curious as to whether he actually had more sensitive information about my finances, but struggling to hold back my amusement from my voice, since there are no credit cards in my name to begin with. My husband has a corporate American Express and a Visa checkcard, but my name isn't even listed on either account. I was also experienced enough to know that if this were legitimate, it would be the issuing credit card company that would be contacting the card holder, and in writing, not over the phone. He rambled on about the importance of this service, stressing that it would come at no cost whatsoever to me.
Then it came. He stated that for security reasons, he needed to verify my credit card number. I told him a blanket answer, that I don't give out financial information over the phone, but he insisted. I shrugged to myself and, still curious as to what, if any, numbers he had, asked him to go ahead and I would verify if it was my card. Here is where I really had to stifle a snicker. He stated quite cheerfully that for my protection, he was only allowed to give me the first number. After asking me to verify if it was Visa or MasterCard (on a whim I said Visa), he proudly stated to me that the first number was 4 and asked me to read the entire number to him. Oh dear, I thought, these guys are trolling. I knew more than enough not to get caught, but I also knew that there were card holders out there who might get sucked in. In the interests of turning him in, I told him I would have to talk to my husband first and asked if I could get a call-back number. He obliged, and I wrote down the number, his name, and the company name.
Armed with this information, I called the FBI's consumer fraud division. The agent was less amused than I had been, as this common scam does indeed fleece a great number of trusting Americans every year, and even with information such as I was able to give them, these operations are hard to catch, switching names and bases of operation frequently. She did thank me, however, promised to get right on it, and asked me to call back if I had any more contact with them.
Here's where the stupidity part comes in. I expected they might call back once, seeing as I hadn't made it overly clear I was a lousy mark, and they did, this time a different representative. I duly recorded his name and number as well, but told him I wasn't interested and asked him to remove me from the call list. Was this the end of it? No! These scammers were either incredibly dumb or incredibly desperate. I received a total of 4 calls over two days, each from a different representative, each unaware that I had previously been contacted, and each trying to sell me the same service under the same company name. When I became so exasperated with the final caller that I informed her she had to be the least educated person in the credit card industry since she was unaware that all Visa's start with 4 and verification was normally carried out by the last four or five digits only, she was completely shocked at finding this out. Apparently she not only made a good cheap employee, but the bosses who wrote her sales pitch card had her in mind.
I personally have not followed up on the success of the FBI in busting this ring, but I hope they got them and got them good. To make sure you don't fall victim to this or a similar scam, follow these tips:
1) Never give out your credit card number over the telephone unless making a phone purchase with a company you -know- is reliable and -you- were the one to place the call. If someone calls you, request that they send you the sales information in the mail.
2) If you are ever asked to verify your credit card number, for example with customer service regarding an order problem, do not read out the entire credit card number. Verification is performed using the last 4-5 digits of the credit card number only.
3) If you suspect someone is trying to obtain your credit information fraudulently, get as much contact information as you can and immediately call the local branch of the FBI. Even if you don't fall for the scam, someone else may, and it winds up costing all of us in the end.
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QueenLyssa
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Member: Lyssa Jaraba
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