Sheriff's Office: Visa & MasterCard Scam Reported

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of a telephone scam compromising Visa and MasterCard accounts.

Calls are being placed allegedly from your bank’s fraud department in an attempt to obtain the three-digit verification code on the back of the  credit/debit card, according to the Crime Prevention Unit.  That code enables the scammer to fraudently use the credit/debit card online and on the telephone.  The Sheriff's Office provided the following information.

The Call Scenario

1. You receive a call -- allegedly from your bank’s fraud department.

2. The caller states they are with your Visa or MasterCard company, providing their alleged badge number.

3. The caller advises that your credit card account (Visa or MasterCard, issued by X Bank) may have been compromised and provides you with some information regarding a suspicious charge varying between $297 and $497. Note the charge amount falls under the normal $500 that usually grabs a fraud department’s attention for further review.

4. Once determined the alleged charge is fraudulent, the caller states a credit will be issued to your account and will arrive at your home prior to your next statement.

5. The caller will then asks you to verify your address by providing it to you and asking if it is correct -- leading you to believe they have valid access to your account and are looking at it while on the phone with you.

6. The caller states that an investigation will be initiated regarding the alleged fraudulent activity and will provide you with callback instructions in the event you need to reach the fraud department in the future. The caller will even provide the number that should be on the back of your credit card.

7. What the caller does not have and what they will next ask you to provide  is the 3-digit verification code on the back of your credit/debit card. The caller will ask you to provide the verification code as a way of verifying that you have physical possession of the card and that it has not been lost/stolen so an investigation can be initiated.

8. The caller then ends the call, asking if you have any questions and re-iterating the call-back instructions should questions arise in the future.

9. When the call has ended, the scammers quickly start charging your account.

Protect Yourself from Scams

There are tons of scams out there and there are also tons of ways your information can be stolen and used for fraudulent activity," law enforcement said. "The best way to protect yourself is to stay aware of the ever-changing methods in which your information is stolen and continuously take proactive measures to prevent it.  For example:

1. Monitor your bank accounts frequently.

2. Know what will catch your bank’s attention regarding fraud.

3. Know the processes your bank uses to verify your identity (not information) when contact is made.

4. Use only trusted vendors (both at physical locations and for online shopping.)

5. Remember that charges processed as a credit are easier to dispute with banks than those processed as a debit. Guard your debit information (pin) -- do not give the pin out and allow another individual to use your credit/debit card, do not write the pin on your card and do not write the pin on anything your card is stored in (envelope, etc.).

6. If you receive a call from someone alleging to be calling on behalf of your bank, find out which account they are calling about, tell them you are unable to talk at the moment (driving in heavy traffic, tending to an ill child, whatever) and that you will call back shortly.  Then check your account and call your bank’s fraud department, using the number they have provided on the card. Verify the account activity.  You can also report calls received that would have initiated fraudulent activity because banks track that information as well.

Additional Consumer Resources

Better Business Bureau: Protect Yourself from Fraud

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

Scambusters.org: Credit Card Fraud

DailyFinance

Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information