Please Read - Credit / Debit Card Scam

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Well you always think it won't happen to you, but it has :(

I have been the victim of identity fraud :(

Seems that somebody got hold of my credit card number and name ( everything gets shredded or filed ) but didn't get the card skimmed. They have then ( presumably from the internet as it's easy ) found out my mother's maiden name and phoned up my credit card company and changed the address the card is registered at. Last Thursday and Friday they made two transactions totalling over £1000 on my credit card presumably to be delivered to the new registered address in Luton.

The banks have always asked for this a syour keyword, although now they are more particular and warn you.

Fortunately the bank spotted it and sent me a letter that I received when I got home Friday and they stopped both payments and put a stop on the card. I guess they spotted change of address and larger than normal transaction very soon after.

Anyway, whatever you do if you have a bank debit or credit card and mother's maiden name is the secret keyword change it NOW. From the internet they can find everything they need about you including date and place of birth and full name even if they have initials and surname and a lot more information besides :(

Please - CHANGE IT NOW

[sparkystav]

Gutted mate, hope you get it sorted.

I thought i'd been a victim of it recently but turned out it was someone else with the same name who owed money not me!

Stav

[Noel]

Alot of people on Bebo and forums seem happy to share all their details.....

my credit card got maxed out a while back, online betting company in Australia two transactions totalling 7000 in two days and they never copped anything... :o only when i opened my statement 2 weeks later did i see the transactions... i felt ill, honestly i was very very worried ringing the credit card company, card cancelled immediately and new one issued and the rest was all sorted in a few weeks and thankfully i didn't get stung with the bill....

what i don't understand is a year previously i ordered a 100 dollar part for my car from Japan and that transaction set of an alarm somewhere and was held up till they rang me asking did i actually make it...yet 7000 in two days .... and nothing

[aztecbandit1]

Theres another SCAM going on at the moment aswell, My brother got stung a couple of weeks ago for quite a lot of money,

A chap rang him up on his mobile saying he was due an upgrade on his mobile phone which he was at the time, they told him they were from Orange had all his mobile details and address etc and offered him a great package which he went for and gave his card details as he never thought nothing of it at the time,

They rang him again the same night to confirm the details and asked for another card as the one he gave earlier wouldnt go through they said? so he gave them another set of card details and the day after his bank rang to query a payment for £400 in shopping vouchers which he hadnt brought? the same day Orange rang him and asked if he still wanted 4 more phones on his contract which he didnt. He then found someone had transferd a large sum to an account in another country (Nigeria) so the bank cancelled all the cards he had and stopped all the payments apart from some that had allready gone out?

Orange rang him again to say they think its someone in one of there finance and contract departments who was doing it and its still under investigation??

So if you get a phone call offering you a great upgrade package ring your phone company to check its them making you the offer and try to get a name of the person calling as i now know of a couple more its happend to in the past 3 wks all with Orange mobile phone contracts?

[Geoffers]

Great advice Steve - Obvious, but peoples mothers maiden names are everywhere. There's a lot of places collected them over the years.

Aztec - this nearly happened to me last week. Its only when I said I've never bought a phone from Orange in my life - I want it included, did he get a bit pushy and offered more on the contract if I paid a small sum. Seemed too dodgy.

Asked for his supervisor and Orange operative ID. As soon as he said #45 I told him knew he was scamming me, I was calling the authorities and put the phone down. Can you believe someone rang back a few minutes later claiming to be from Orange apologising for his behaviour! I rang Orange and reported it to them - whether they look into it or not is another thing. They didn't seem bothered.

[dave1]

I was a victim 3 yrs ago when post went astray when Royal Mail were putting different delivery persons on our route daily. Took over a year to sort out even though the Police had ample evidence about the perpetrator.

As far as security questions go, things such as mothers maiden name, last school do not need to be recorded correctly. You can record anything as the answers to security questions so long as you can remember what you told them.