Credit Card Scams

How many of us have received that text message that says “Your credit card starting with 4505” has been compromised. I know that I have received that too many times to count any more, and of course that is a scam given that each type of credit card starts with a standard four numbers. I wonder how many people fall for this because I think it is something that if you are busy and just see “your credit card has been compromised.” You immediately think that you need to do something, so you click on the link provided to try and resolve the issue.

 Now here is a conversation that I had when our phone rang and I answered it:

 Person: Hello is Mr ? There please

Me: I’m sorry he isn’t available now can I help you.

 Person: This is Visa/Mastercard calling, and I was wanting to check to ensure that the new credit card that we sent arrived.

Me: I thought Visa and Mastercard were two different companies

 Person: Yes, Visa/Master

Me: What is the name of the company that is calling?

 Person: Do you mean the name of the bank?

Me. Yes, what is the name of the card company that is calling?

Person: Oh, it’s CIBC Fraud department, we sent you a new card because your card expired

Me: Can you tell me the expiry date that is showing on your system

Person: Oh, do you have the card with you?

Me: Yes, I do have the card with me

 Person: Please tell me the expiry date on the card

            Me: You should be able to tell me because you sent me a new card, and you are calling me from the company.

 Person: hangs up and ends the call

 

The funny thing about this entire conversation was it originally started that they were asking for my husband, and it was Visa/Mastercard that was calling. Normally, if it is the bank or credit card company that is calling, they won’t talk to anyone other than the specific credit card holder. Here this person was trying to get some information about a credit card from me, but I wasn’t providing him with the information that he was asking for.

The first red flag was “Visa/Mastercard” these are two entirely different companies, so they wouldn’t be calling as one company. The second one was they didn’t identify the company they were calling from until I had to ask them a couple of times. The third thing was why would the Fraud department be calling to confirm I had received my new card as it has expired. 

 So, when you get this type of call, be very careful and don’t provide them with any information. Also, listen to the words the person that is calling you is saying because there are a lot of times you can trip them up and get them off their script. Know that if you receive a call from a credit card company, you can always hang up and call the company yourself after looking up the number yourself. Do not trust any phone number that you receive after getting a cold call about a credit card.

 There are more and more credit card scams happening, so always remember that you are the one that is in control of what information you provide, not the person that called you.