The ShadowMusic Web Community

A friend of mine nearly got caught out with this one. It's a new on on me, so I'm posting it here, for info:

A fraudster rings you, claiming to be from your bank, saying their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment on your card or that your card is due to expire and needs replacing.
You may be asked to ring back using the phone number on the back of your card - which further convinces you the call is genuine. However, the criminal keeps the line open at their end so, when you make the call, you are unknowingly connected straight back to the fraudster.

Then, by seeming to offer assistance, the fraudster tries to gain your trust. In most cases you are asked to ‘cancel’ your existing card or ‘activate’ or ‘authorise’ a replacement card by keying your PIN into your phone’s handset.

The fraudster then poses as a bank representative to pick up your card from your home, sometimes giving you a replacement card, which is a fake. In some cases a genuine courier company is hired to pick up the card, which the victim has been asked to place into an envelope.

Once they have your card and PIN the fraudster uses them to spend your money.

A variation of the scam involves the fraudster ringing a prospective victim and claiming to be from the police – again with the aim of going to the victim’s home to collect the card and PIN.

I'm insulted to think that people would think we were that stupid.

dave robinson wrote:I'm insulted to think that people would think we were that stupid.

Unfortunately some people are that stupid. The general rule is not to give bank details to anyone, NO EXCEPTIONS.

I think you are both missing the point. You are told to hang up and then call your bank back, using the bank's real number on the back of your card. They don't ask for your details.

In fact my friend's experience was slightly different from the one I posted from the Net. He did hang up and call his bank and he did speak to someone at the bank. However they told him to call back on his mobile because the scammers had a way to hold the line open and eavesdrop on his call to the bank.

It is a VERY plausible scam because they DON'T ask you for your details and tell you to hang up and call your bank!

The ringback trick is well-known. Faced with something like that, calling the number on a differnt phone will confirm it's a scam - and also alert you r bank.

George

Noel, from day one for me it was quite clear, your bank would NEVER ask for bank details over the phone under any circumstances, you would receive a letter, it's as simple as that. Anyone who does give bank details didn't listen.

Hi Dave,

You are correct, I forgot to mention that your bank will never contact you by phone.

I never said the bank would ask for details over the phone, Dave. Everyone should know that they wouldn't do that by now! This isn't a scam about asking for details, it's a scam about making you vulnerable to eavesdropping.

And, Maurice, in certain circumstances, your bank WILL contact you by phone. I have myself been called by my bank, after making a large purchase with my credit card, to ensure that it was indeed me who was making the transaction. And, yes, it WAS my bank that called!

OK Noel.

Hi Noel,

I have never been contacted by phone as I don't think I have made any large purchases