Fraudsters Impersonate Bank Security Departments to obtain CVCs

You get a call from your credit card company's security department and they already have your credit card number. Does that mean you should trust what they are saying?

Probably, not a good idea!

The Sussex Sun is reporting:

A new credit card scam has emerged and police are cautioning people to be leery of phone callers saying they represent a credit card company.

The twist to this latest scam is that the caller does not ask for a credit card number, but for the three-digit security number on the back of the card.

According to police, the caller identifies himself or herself as an employee of VISA or MasterCard working in the security and fraud department.

Sussex Sun Story, here.

The "telephone fraudster" then brings up an "alleged" fraud purchase and when the intended victim claims to have never made it - they are conned into giving up the three-digit number (CVC) on the back of their card.

A lot of e-commerce companies are now requiring this CVC (Card Verification Code) to make online, or telephone purchases.

CVC is an extra layer of protection, common in the credit and debit card industry.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of credit card information being bought and sold in "carder" rooms. From the "carder" perspective, cards with the CVC included are worth a lot more than cards without them.

Link to my most recent post about this, here.

The Sussex article recommends you call your credit card company and report the attempt. I agree with them this since - if you get a call like this - the crooks already have your number!

It's also probably a good idea to take a look at your credit report and make sure they aren't already compromising your information. If they are - I have a lot of links on this site on where to go and seek help.

This activity is also sometime known as "Vishing," Wikipedia already has a good article on this, here.