Hi Everyone, this was on my school community website and thought it might be useful to share it with the nepali community. If you do get a call like this, for precautionary reasons just tell them you will call them back in a few minutes and call your credit card company to confirm. Below are the details of the fraud. A social engineering technique to steal cr. card nos. Summary : Don't give cr. card to any-one on phone or email, when you have not initiated the phone or dialouge. BEWARE NEW CREDIT CARD SCAM > >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. > >My husband was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was called on >Thursday from "MasterCard". > >The scam works like this: 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 has 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 4 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. > >Long story made short - 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 Master card directly for >verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will >never 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 to >late and/or more difficult to actually 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. > >Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each >other, we protect each other. ----------- Recently spam emails in name of Paypal were also circulated asking for your credentials of paypal accounts. Paypal confirmed it to be a fraud. Hope that helps.