Our office works with numerous organizations that contact us when facing troubling issues. Occasionally, these organizations run across situations where large numbers of their clients or constituents are being affected by a particular scam. Recently, a representative of Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) called our office to report that a number of their clients were being called and asked for their credit card information. The scam they described is particularly insidious because of the professionalism of the caller on the other end of the line.

The Scam:
Someone calls claiming to be from the Security and Fraud Department at Visa or MasterCard. They give their name and “badge number” and say they are calling to verify that your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern. They tell you the charge was made on your Visa or MasterCard and are even able to name the bank where the card was issued. Then they ask if you have purchased an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona.

When you tell the caller that you did not authorize the charge, they say that they will be issuing a credit to your account. The caller then tells you that this is a company the fraud department has been watching for some time, and that the charges range from $297 to $497, which falls just under the $500 purchase patterns that flags most credit cards. Before you say anything else, the caller gives your address, and then asks if it is correct.

Once you verify that they have your correct address, the caller tells you that they are going to start a fraud investigation and that if you have any questions, you should call the 1-800 number listed on the back of your card. Then the caller will ask you look at the seven digit number on the back of your card. The first four numbers are part of your card number; the last three are the security numbers. The caller will ask you to read the three numbers to him to verify you are in possession of the card. After you read the numbers, the caller will tell you that is correct, and that he just needed to verify that the card hadn’t been lost or stolen.

The issue is that the caller is not from Visa or MasterCard, and the three numbers are the last piece of information that he needs before he can place a charge on the card. What makes this such a successful scam is that they never ask for your account number or other personal information. They have most of the information, and so they sound legitimate.

This scam is a cautionary tale. Even when the caller seems to have all the information, and sounds one hundred percent legitimate, you can’t be too careful. If someone calls you and asks you for any information at all about your credit accounts, never give it out. Tell them you will verify they are a legitimate caller by calling the company right back. Hang up and dial the 800 number on the back of the card. The real Visa and MasterCard will never ask you to tell them information from your card over the phone, they already have the information. The best thing you can do is call the company and report that an attempt has been made to obtain your credit information.