Credit Card Fraud - Beware of This One

David Marcus, the President of the Diamond Club West Coast, Inc., sent this to us, and we thought our readers should be aware.

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I thought this was too important to pass by and thought I would forward it. Take the time to read it. You never know, it could happen to you. I checked with our PD and they said yes, they did hear of it.

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New Credit Card Scam Snopes.com says this is true. See this site - http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp .

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This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want. Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA," and I was called on Thursday from "Master Card."

The scam works like this: the person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card h as been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?"

When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards."

Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes".

The caller continues: "I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. "

The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.

The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card."

He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers."

There are 7 numbers; the first four are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.

After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?"

After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do," and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did!

The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card. We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new 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 MasterCard directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will n ever 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 too late or more difficult actually to file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

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Thanks, David!

Forbidden Word Failsafe

Most shippers of high-value cargo know that typing "forbidden" words on a shipping label - like gold, diamonds, or jewelry - will void their insurance. Virtually every policy states that packages so labeled are excluded from coverage.

So if you ship a package worth $10,000 and address it to The ABC Jewelry Mart, a claim for theft or loss almost certainly will be denied.

In the gem and jewelry industry, most shippers have developed practices that eliminate such "steal me" red flags on labels. For example, they commonly abbreviate "ABC Jewelry Mart" to "ABC J Mart." And if the shipper's company name is Acme Wedding Rings, they abbreviate the return address to "AWR."

The problem is making sure to remember these conventions every time you make a label - or, even tougher, making sure all your employees understand and remember them.

TransGuardian has created a failsafe measure to reduce this risk.

Any time you type a forbidden word on a TransGuardian label (whether it's UPS, FedEx, DHL or the US Postal Service), you'll get a warning in big, red letters notifying you of the red flag words you just typed - BEFORE the label is purchased or printed.

Of course, we cannot block printing labels with forbidden words entirely, because if you must send a package to Bob GOLDblum, 123 JEWELRY Way, DIAMOND, Texas, there's not much you can do about it. The real surname, street name, and city name are indispensible.

But in addition to onscreen red-flag warnings BEFORE the label prints, forbidden word alerts also transmit instantly to TransGuardian security managers, who can review the label contents on their computer screens or pdas and frequently can intervene with a customer to make labels safer before they leave the shipper's premises.

TransGuardian is committed to the intelligent use of technology to guide shippers away from costly errors BEFORE those errors are made.