Phone Call – Your Card Has Been Used

I have just finished reading this article in the Daily Mail – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2249752/A-999-credit-card-scam-cost-thousands.html

It’s a salutory lesson.  The Police DO NOT phone you if your card details have been stolen/cloned.  I know, because it happened to me.  Two years ago my own card details were stolen.  Not the card, I still had that, just the details.  Like this story, the card was used to purchase items from Apple.

I found out because my bank spotted unusual use, blocked the card and wrote to me.  They didn’t need to confirm who owned the card, they didn’t need the pin number to block it.  They just blocked it.  Then they wrote to me.

One of the giveaways in this story in the Daily Mail is that the fraudster told the victim that they needed details of ALL their cards.  If you still have your card(s) in your possession (as I did) then it is almost impossible for the details of more than one of them to be used by thieves at any given time.  They haven’t got your cards – you have them.  Therefore, if your details ARE being used, it is because the details of one of them have been cloned, for example in a restaurant or petrol station.

Here is my advice:

Phone Call Claiming to be from the Police/your bank

NEVER, I repeat NEVER give your card details to someone over the phone unless YOU chose to ring THEM (for example, if you are making a purchase).  It is easy and understandable to panic if someone phones you and tells you there is a problem.  I’m sure I would do the same, and I doubt if I would be thinking clearly and logically.

If you do get one of these calls use another phone to phone back.  Don’t use any number given to you by the caller.  If it is about your bank account, go onto the internet and get a legitimate phone number for your bank.  Use your mobile, if the caller rang your landline or use your landline if the caller rang your mobile.

Letter Claiming to be from your bank

Letters can also be faked.  Look for the clues.  Are you addressed by name?  Check on your bank’s own website, or phone your local branch to verify the phone number given in the letter.  Call the main number on the bank’s own website.  The bank’s call centre should be able to put you through to the department who wrote to you, if it was a legitimate letter.

I think I’ve Fallen Victim to a telephone bank scam

Try not to panic.  Telephone your bank IMMEDIATELY you realise what has happened.  They will block your card immediately.