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Monday, May 21, 2007

Credit cards and SCAM

Are credit cards sure?
Certainly not. Everyday more and more we read about credit cards' fraud.
And thieves are getting everyday smarter.
One of the latest SCAM consists in calling for example a VISA ownwer, presenting themselves as Security and Fraud Department at VISA, reporting a fraud on your card and asking the security 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 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.
Banks and credit card companies have long warned consumers against providing personal information to unknown callers (or Websites). Con artists are often able to obtain partial information about a potential victim's account, then contact the person masquerading as a company representative to "verify" the account by requesting additional details as in the above case, the three-digit security code. But they might just as well ask for other pertinent details, for example, they may provide the last four digits of your account number (which typically show up on
sales receipts, etc.) and request the other 12 digits to "confirm" it.
Or they may already be in possession of your full account number and request the expiration date of the card, or your billing address. Any of these individual bits of information may be just what the scammerneeds to "fill in the blanks" and gain full access to your account, so beware.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The rise of credit card fraud is awful taking into account the fact that we use cards daily and everywhere. Why banks and credit card companies cannot invent really effective and strong security messures?

 
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