Gift Card scam ... Tjhx Marge R!

New post on Fairfax County Police Department News

Two Men Arrested in Gift Card Scam by FCPD PIO Mount Vernon patrol officers responded to a citizen report of a “suspicious” vehicle parked in a lot in the 7700 block of Richmond Highway on Saturday, February 7 at around 3 p.m. Patrol officers engaged in discussion with occupants of the Toyota Corolla and charged them with trespassing, as the shopping center had a “no trespassing sign” posted nearby. An observant shopper then approached the officer and reported that he had seen the two occupants of the Corolla with a computer, a credit card encoder, and a stack of credit cards and the scene felt “suspicious” to him. Financial Crimes Detectives were called and responded to the scene. After further investigation, detectives determined that suspects were reportedly sitting at this spot, uploading fraudulent credit card information onto blank gift cards and using them as actual credit cards. They were in in the parking lot waiting on others (people known to the suspects) to arrive and “shop.” Nathanial Henry, 35, of Temple Hills, Maryland was charged with trespassing and credit card forgery. Randolph Marrow, 36, of Washington DC was charged with trespassing. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be pending. Nathaniel Henry

New Scam ... Thx Marge R!

According to Snopes this is true. See http://www.snopes.com/fraud/sales/express.asp  Charlie

 

BE ON THE ALERT, THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS COMING NEW SCAM

Just when you think you've heard it all. Here comes another scam. This
scam is very clever. Be very careful out there! One could easily fall for
this - beware of people bearing gifts!

There is a new and clever credit card scam. Please circulate this.
Someone it happened to says it works like this:

Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone who said that he was
from some outfit called: "Express Couriers" asking if I was going to be
home because there was a package for me, and 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 would send me such a gift, I inquired as to
who the sender is. The delivery man'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 charge" as proof that he had actually delivered the
package to an adult, and not just left it on the doorstep where it could
be stolen or taken by anyone.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the
company required the payment to be by credit or debit card only so that
everything is properly accounted for.

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 the card on the small mobile card machine which
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.

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
delivery man 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 the 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!

If you pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled!=

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.

New credit card scam Thanks Deloris Salyers

----- Original Message -----
Subject: FW: Credit Card scam- Read this one -URGENT!


Not sure if this is true or not, but better safe than sorry.

For what it's worth . . . .











Man they are getting slick!!!

New Credit Card Scam


This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it... This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'.. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in ?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT p art on how the scam works.. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number.. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question.. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.
Please pass this on to all your family, friends and neighbors. By informing each other, we protect each other.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors