August 4, 2008
If someone who said they were from your credit card company called you and said there had been some unusual activity on your account, be careful. They might not be from your credit card company, and the information you give them could result in unauthorized charges to your card.
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six says his office was alerted to a fraudulent pattern that has impacted Kansas consumers in recent days.
The caller, claiming to be from Visa or Mastercard, says they are calling in response to an unusual purchase pattern on the consumer's card. They will already have the consumer's credit card number and address - the only thing they are missing is the security numbers printed on the back of the card in the signature line. They will ask the consumer to "verify" this three-digit code. This verification will then give the scammer access to the credit card for online purchases.
The scam has already been reported in five Kansas counties.
Keep in mind that these con artists are good at convincing consumers and will offer bogus assurances that they are calling from the credit card company, such as name and a "badge number" or other ID number to corroborate their scam. How can you tell is the person claiming to be from your credit card company is a fraudster?
"Your credit card company will never need to call you for the numbers on your card. They issued the card and have that information readily available," Six said.
As always, consumers should be very cautious about giving out personal and financial information to someone who calls them on the telephone and should promptly file a police report if someone tries to obtain personal information over the telephone.
