Phone Scam Seeks Credit Card Codes
Visa, Mastercard Say Consumers Should Hang Up On Calls
OMAHA, Neb. -- A scam that's cropped up in recent years is a new turn on decades-old credit card fraud.
The point of the scam is to get access to the three-digit security code on the back of credit cards. Many Internet retailers require the code as a security measure. The crooks may already have stolen your credit card information from another source -- like a receipt or statement -- but they don't have the three-digit code.
It works like this. A caller says he or she is calling from the fraud department at Visa or MasterCard. Often, the caller gives a badge number. He or she asks if you recently purchased an anti-telemarketing device for $497.99. He or she then says the fraud department has been watching that company.
The caller verifies your name, address, credit card number and expiration date, and then says in order to block the $497.99 charge and credit it back to the credit card, he or she needs the three-digit code.
Once the caller has the code, he or she can purchase items.
Omaha police said that Visa and MasterCard are aware of the scam. They said the best advice is to hang up the phone in the middle of the call.
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