Frauds and Scams, Oh No!

I received a call on my landline this morning about 10:30 AM that started “New customer” and went on claiming to be working in the security and fraud department of MY bank. Evidently, I had purchased something at 5:30 AM that they thought was suspicious and asked me to phone a number to verify the purchase. I didn’t phone because I am not a “New customer”. This is a fraud, once you phone back they then ask if you’ve made a particular purchase; once you reply that you haven’t, they assure you they will credit your account for the amount. The fraud works as follows:

To verify the credit, the caller recites your home address (correctly) and says you can call the 1-800 number on the back of your card later if you have questions. Finally, they ask you to prove that you are in possession of the credit card by asking you to read out the three-or four-digit CVV (Card Verification Value) security number on the back of your card. After you do this, they respond that you are correct, thank you and hang up.

Unfortunately, the caller now has all the information required — your name, address, card number and CVV — to commit fraud.

Here are a few other versions of the scam:

· Call-back request: The caller may ask you to call the 1-800 number on the back of your card to prove to you the call is legit. When you hang up, however, the call is not immediately disconnected because there is a 5 to 25 second disconnect delay on landline calls in Canada. To really fool you, the caller even plays a recording of a dial tone to make you think you are placing a new call but — make no mistake — the scammers are still on the line. When they “answer” your call, they redirect you to an impostor who may ask you to transfer funds to an external, supposedly “safer”, bank account (that belongs to them) while the “investigation” is taking place.

· Transaction-review request: Some victims are duped into providing remote access to their computers and online banking records so the “investigator” can review any suspicious transactions.

· Investigation-assistance request: Other victims are asked to “help” catch the criminal by accepting a deposit and transferring on it to another account. The deposit, however, is fake — which means victims end up transferring their own money to the scammers.

So, how did the caller get your name, address and/or credit card number to begin with? Unbelievably, there are lead lists for sale online that contain this information for marketers. Unfortunately, criminals can purchase the lists as well. Other methods include going through your garbage or mailbox for credit card statements, hacking companies that have your card information, or through phishing scams.