New Credit/debit card scam ... Thx Dr. H!

 Very new, very clever credit card scam

WOW!  This one was a new one on me and a darn clever one I have to say!
If only the people who came up with these schemes would put all that ingenuity and cleverness to
some positive purpose we might really have something!
I've already checked it out with Snoopers and it's a legit scam.

CHECK IT OUT :

From a friend: (It originated in Florida)

Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit
called: "Express Couriers,"(The name could have been anything) he asked if I was going to be
home because there was a package delivery for me that required a signature . The caller said
that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour, and sure enough, about an hour
later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and wine. I was
very surprised since it did not involve any special occasion or holiday, and I certainly
didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued about who had sent me such a gift, I inquired as to
who the sender was. The deliveryman's reply was, he was only delivering the gift package, but
allegedly a card was being sent separately... (the card has never arrived!) There was also a
consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50
"delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to
an adult of legal drinking age, and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen
or taken by anyone, especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company
required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted
for, and this would keep help in keeping a legal record of the transaction. He added couriers
not needing to carry a bunch of cash, would make them less likely targets for robbery.

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled his wallet out of his pocket with
the credit/debit card, and 'John,' the "delivery man," asked my husband to swipe his card on a
small mobile card machine. It had a small screen and keypad where Frank was also asked to
enter the card's PIN and security number. A receipt was printed out and given to us as our
copy of the transaction. He then said everything was in order, and wished us good day.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been
charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines.

It appeared that somehow the "mobile credit card machine," which the deliveryman carried now
had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details after my husband
swiped our card and entered the requested PIN and security number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank
which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed.

We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam
because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you neither expected nor
personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving
the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no
proper identification of who the sender is.

Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is
when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!

Pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled.