bank card scam (FYI)

MaryAnne

I got a call (on my cell phone) the other day, from a "Private Number". Thinking it was a family member, I answered it; it was a male "robotic" voice telling me my "Debit card has been deactivated...." .

Now I'm not SURE, but I THINK he may have mentioned "your [my bank] debit card" - or maybe not.
Anyway, I knew immediately this was a scam because I do not use my cell # for anything business related, at all; only for family and friends. Period.

Then I was instructed to call back a toll free number "to verify debit account and reinstate the debit card" so I can continue using it for purchases and withdrawals. Needless to say, I did NOT do that!

But I think we should spread the word (especially to elderly relatives, our kids, etc) that this is a SCAM and that only THEIR BANK will contact them if something is wrong with their accounts.
Oh, yeah- I know someone else who got the same call on her cell phone the next day! And another friend got a similar call several days before mine. Seems to be a popular scam at the moment....

If you should get one of these calls, it usually means the scammers are targeting a certain geographical area (a tri-state area, or whatever) and it would be good to let your bank/s know you've gotten such a call. They may want to put out the word of warning to other customers.

ThailandTom

My mother had something like this happen to her, she had money taken from her account and also a friends dad has had it happen to him as well. My mum had an email that appeared to be from paypal, all legit in appearance but it obviously wasn't.

oceancaldera207

Wow I don't know of any bank around here that would care enough to call you for anything....if somethings wrong with your account you'll find out when you run the card.
One thing to do is report to fcc

http://www.fcc.gov/complaints

Theres also a site that logs numbers of scammers,. Lately I've taken to googling every unidentified missed call number I get, youd be surprised what comes up.. people are reporting these numbers pretty quickly

MaryAnne

Yes, I've seen those sites that list scammers and collection agency's numbers.... but this time they've wised up and blocked their number/s. It comes up as "Private Number" or "Unknown Caller" so there is no number to trace back.

I guess you could try to trace the 800 number they are telling you to call (with your card information)... I didn't think of taking that number down. If it happens again I will though. Good idea!

ThailandTom

On the silkroad you can buy loads of scams including ATM hacks, paypal hacks and a few others I forget now. With a lot of our lives being online these days, those in the know about hacking can use it for good or for bad, many use it for bad.

oceancaldera207

Yea... seems like for phone phishing stuff the fcc is the way to go, from what Im reading.
In my experience dealing with radios at work, the fcc tends to be pretty no nonsense... I wouldn't want to mess with em

karasti

I had $300 stolen from my account just the other day. The guy ordered college textbooks and so far it appears the name and address he used were valid, so, the cops are working on it. But my bank is awesome, they put the money plus the fees (the charges overdrew my account) into my account. Could have been a lot worse, but unpleasant just the same. This wasn't the result of a phone call scam though. I made the mistake of using my debit card online for *one* transaction that was a limited time offer for my son's birthday.

Anyhow, I wanted to say that the microsoft virus calls are really common lately too, at least hear. They call and tell you "I'm from Microsoft and your computer has a virus." and want you to do various things to allow them access to your computer remotely to fix it. As if Microsoft would monitor your computer and then bother to call you, lol. Those ones are scary because people get caught so off guard when they think they have a virus that they just want it fixed, and unknowingly give people access to everything-all their passwords and everything because usually they install keyloggers and then they get your bank passwords and everything else. Crazy.

vinlyn

The one I've gotten lately is emails supposedly from authentic computer companies (e.g., Microsoft) saying that my computer is infected, with a link to an authentic looking Microsoft site...but of course, it's not. I suppose there are those who fall for it.

Jeffrey

I had one like that and googled the number and found out it was a scam.

oceancaldera207

us-cert.gov/report-phishing
Its good to report this stuff. Google also has a system to report phishing

Citta

There are a number of phishers sending E mail claiming to be from Paypal.
They ask you to confirm your account details...
There are usually mistakes, either grammatical and spelling in the request, and the big give away is the fact that any authentic request from Paypal will always use your full name.
The fakes address you as 'dear member ' or similar.

Zayl

Had this happen to me a few times as well. I just listen for a while, then hang up. I then head down to my bank in person to check things out. It almost always turns out to be a scam, but checking things out in person can prove there is nothing to worry about, while at the same time not endangering your livelihood.

TL;DR - Never do business over the phone or internet. Good old fashioned paperwork and face to face meetings can practically eliminate the danger from scams like these.