Scam has ensnarled at least one Yukon senior
‘Tis the season to be wary of scams, and the Yukon Council of Aging is getting into the spirit with a warning to all Yukoners.
‘Tis the season to be wary of scams, and the Yukon Council of Aging is getting into the spirit with a warning to all Yukoners.
“We’ve heard of at least one senior who has fallen for this latest scam,” Kip Veale, chair of the council’s abuse and neglect committee, told the Star late last week.
She went on to describe a scam whereby a person calls claiming to be from the security and fraud department of either Visa or MasterCard.
The caller tells the scam target: “Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern.”
The caller goes on to ask if the person has bought an anti-telemarketing device for $497.99 from an Arizona-based company.
The caller knows the person’s name and address, the bank which issued the credit card and even the credit card number.
The caller is always professional and helpful seeming, according to a fraud warning issued by the Toronto Police Service.
He or she will say, “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 and ask for security.” The caller will even give out a bogus file number.
Then, the scam kicks into high gear. The caller will ask for the target’s security number.
“I need to verify that you are in possession of your card,” the caller will say.
“Turn your card over and look for some numbers. There are seven numbers; the first four are part of your card number, the last three are the security numbers that verify that you are the possessor of the card.”
In fact, these are the numbers the caller needs to put a charge on the card. Instead of returning $497.99, as the caller claims, the victim will be charged that amount.
Neither MasterCard nor Visa would ever call a customer asking for this information, the two companies have stated.
Customers should never give out personal information to incoming callers claiming to be from a credit card company.
People who have fallen prey to this scam need to speak directly to the bank which issued the card in order to get the charges reversed, according to MasterCard’s website.
Yukoners were also targeted last week by a false $2,600-prize announcement.
Upon picking up the phone, people would hear a pre-recorded voice informing them that “this phone number is the winner of $2,600,” then prompting the target to purchase something to claim the prize.
The local RCMP have been informed of the call.
People are asked to report this and any other phone or Internet fraud to phonebusters.com or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
Thomas Brewer
Dec 21, 2009 at 5:22 pm
one way to deal with these fraudsters is to give them false information - it ties them up and wastes their time…. seems like it’s the only way to get back at these anonymous SOB’s.