Credit Card FRAUD!!!

Be careful of this new Modus Operandi

Good day to you my friends and readers.  In this day and age, almost everyone has a credit card, well almost everyone that I know that is.  Credit cards are a wonder, that I have to agree, they provide us comfort, they provide us flexibility and of course they provide us credit and not mention perks such as air miles, free food, free services and many many more to mention.  I have been a user of credit cards for the past 14 years... oops there my age is showing.  But through all these hard times and different gimmicks that I have fallen prey unto, nothing has prepared me for this FRAUD, that is now circling credit card users.  Let me share to you my experience on how this came about and how to resolve this.

I am not going to name the bank or the credit card provider since I am really not sure if they are the ones selling our information to others, or just that we are being careless.  So here it goes, about a month ago, I received a phone call from this so called credit card provider, she or he specifically looked for me and finally when they got through to me, the first thing that they told me is this "Good day Sir!  I am ****** from this particular bank and I would just like to inform you that you have been upgraded to a Platinum card from your present Gold card, and what's more is that you get this Platinum card with no annual fees forever."

Wow!! Was that something I wanna hear, A Platinum card with no annual fees forever.  Too good to be true, maybe it really is.  So after telling me that, he/she says that please wait for the letter of cancellation of your credit cards from your bank, so that you can be provided with the new Platinum card, so I said, Ok sure!  Just send me the letter so that we could process this.  I have heard of the perks of being a Platinum card holder and thus this was kinda hard to ignore and hard to resist as well.



And so, after 2 days, the same person calls me up again looking for me, and tells me "Sir, did you receive the cancellation letter yet from the courier? I said No, then afterwards, He (by the way this person I'm referring to is a gay), told me he would like to confer with me their records, and so he started on stating my complete address, my full name, my credit card nos. even my credit limits and the date of the expiry of my credit cards, and in good faith I confirmed my records, thinking that indeed this was a bank personnel completing my records for my new Platinum card.  And he was quite accurate in almost all data that a credit card CSR would know about a client's information, it was very believable, but the last thing that struck me is that he even knows my CVV no., what is a CVV?

The CVV Number ("Card Verification Value") on a credit card or debit card is a 3 digit code on VISA, MasterCard and Discover branded credit and debit cards, and a 4 digit code on American Express credit and debit cards. They can be located by looking on your credit card, as illustrated below:

CVV numbers are NOT your PIN (Personal Identification Number), and you should never enter your PIN number when asked to provide a CVV.  PIN numbers allow you to use your credit or debit card at an ATM or when making an in-person purchase with a debit card.

CVV numbers are also known as CSC numbers ("Card Security Code"), as well as CVV2 numbers, which are the same as CVV numbers, except that they have been generated by a "2nd generation" algorithm that makes the numbers harder for credit card thieves to "guess".

And now that we are clear with the CVV, after hearing the info about me he provided, I believed him.  So again after 3 days, this same person calls me up and asks the same question again.  And since I did not receive the cancellation letter, he apologized to me and said the letter and the new Platinum card would be delivered to you by next week with your new PIN as well.  I said sure!  But I was getting that kinda weird feeling that something was kinda fishy with all these phone calls following up on that Platinum card, as I was thinking if you want to send the card just send it over, so I was getting a little anxious with all these follow up calls.

Then finally after a few more days, came a courier with an envelope containing a PIN code inside which I was indeed expecting, so on that same day, our usual gay guy called up and confirmed if I have received my PIN code, and so I said yes, then he confirmed that we will be sending another courier guy over with the cancellation letter for you to sign, and please leave him your credit cards as well.  Upon hearing that, I said "Shouldn't I have to cut the cards before giving them to the courier?" He said no need, but I insisted I had to cut them up.  So he obliged, but I said I will be out and will be back next week so please send the courier to pick these up next week.  Why did i say that even though I will just be here and not leaving at all, because I had a gut feel that something was indeed wrong with whats happening.

Then late in the afternoon, another call came in, and it was a lady confirming if I had received a PIN code which she quote "I had requested" to be delivered to me.  So I told her that I did not request for that PIN code for my gold card, she said "Sir, you requested this PIN code to be delivered to your billing address on this date" and then in my mind I was thinking WTF!!! Who did the request for me to send my PIN over to me.

So taking that into consideration, I asked if it appears on their records if I was indeed approved for a Platinum card, the CSR lady told me, "Sir, we have no records of upgrading you to Platinum status from our system." Oh my!  So I told her my experience with the said events happening to me lately, and she said "Sir, please don't ever give your card even if you cut it in 4 pieces to the said courier as this is and will never be a practice of banks to take your old credit card in exchange for the new card."  Well, I know that, maybe I was kinda brainwashed in believing I had to surrender my old card to get the new one.

So finally, I had my mind set, this particular FRAUD, knows all of my identity, my details and my card nos., so without having second thoughts, I said to the lady CSR, please cancel my 2 cards and replace them with new ones with new card nos. since I felt my cards were compromised, she processed my cancellation and informed me that they indeed are having some complaints from customers having the same situation as mine.  And so, with this I would like to share with you my experience and help in spreading the word so that this fraudulent acts would not victimize any more poor souls.  Please do share this with your friends and family members of the MODUS OPERANDI.

And so let me share to you some tips on how to keep you credit card data secure.

• Don't ever tell anyone your CVV no. especially on the phone unless you are the one initiating the sale, meaning you were the one who called for the transaction.

• Go Paperless, send your monthly billings to your email address rather than snail mail, why? These documents or statements go through a lot of people and might leak out info about you.  Remember the last time you did not receive your statement on time?  Or if it never arrived at all?

• After your credit card expires be sure to cut it, even better if more than 4 pieces so that thieves could not get info from it especially on the magnetic strip behind it.

• Be sure to sign your credit card as soon as you receive it to avoid it from getting into the wrong hands.

• If you have lost your credit card and/or you think your credit card no. is compromised, ask for a brand new card and cancel your former card to be sure.

• If you are not sure what to do?  Call your bank and ask, it is better for you to call the bank rather than the bank calling you so you definitely know that you are talking to your bank's CSR.

• CSR's only give out their last names to you upon your request and so ask for it.

• Take note of your conversations with the CSR, note the time, date and agenda.  They will definitely put that into record, so keep track

If you have any other ideas and tips on how to keep your credit card date secure, please do chime in and post in our comments section so that we could help our family and friends and keep them from getting victimized by these deceiving people.

And so what was the conclusion on y experience, the same person called and so I told him that I had a problem with my card and that I cancelled all of my cards, and guess what he has not called me after that.  I can now confirm that he is really a FRAUD.  Hope my post could help stop this deceitful acts.