Cabel Sasser:
So, I got a call from the 1-800 number on the back of my ATM Card: Wells Fargo. I answered, and a Fraud Department agent said my ATM card had just been used at a Target in Minnesota, was I on vacation? Ugh.
So the card-replacement dance began. “Is the card in your possession?” It was. The agent asked for the CVV code to verify I had it. After verifying, he offered to expedite a replacement. First he had to read some disclosures. Then he asked me to key in a new PIN.
Scary thread from Sasser, co-founder of Panic Inc. Big lesson is if someone calls you, call them back at the company’s official number to verify.
Or do what I do – just never answer the phone.
We do the latter; we rarely answer the phone. Almost everything goes to the landline’s answering machine or the mobiles’ voicemail. An occasional caller ID will suggest something we’re willing to pick up for.
Scammers, if they bother to leave a message, usually leave one that’s identifiable for its lack of specifics. Spoofed local phone numbers rarely leave a message of any kind. Those spoofs have yet to mimic a known number, like a member of our family, but we’re expecting that to change.
Probably should have stopped at the ccv. I hate reading those out even if I’ve initiated the called.
My CU calls me for fraud alerts, but it’s a recording saying “hey, please call fraud prevention, FFS”.
Asking for the CVV should be a giant red flag.
“If you don’t pay immediately, we will inform THE LOCAL COPS!”
Sadly, nothing that histrionic, so far. We’ve only had one or two “IRS” messages, but the attempts to tell me that my Microsoft Windows has been compromised are hilarious, whether spoken by a heavily accented young man or a synth. Others begin with “Your bank has…” or “You now qualify for a reduction in your credit card rates!”
“We are calling to inform you about a problem with your car’s extended warranty…”
(“You haven’t bought a scam one from us!”)
That’d be novel. Our car is over 14 years old. Less than 35,000 miles on it.
Avoiding scams doesn’t require intelligence, it requires you never set aside your vigilance. It can happen to any of us.
Wells Fargo, and anything that has to do with it (including this fraud) is a reminder of a shitty company doing shitty things.
I’m with you Shawn. If I don’t recognize the caller, I never answer the phone. Never. It also means I pretty much never answer the phone period, because almsot anyone I know these days texts rather than calls.
I always get “We are calling about your credit card…”
They never say the company name.
It’s a shame people fall for this stuff.
It’s a shame that they have to put up with it at all.
Yeah. I had an attempted scammer try that on me. I gave a totally fake number and the woman was like “yep that’s a match” (which is how I knew it was a scam).
I’ve also had scammers try to get me to read back the whole card number. Which a bank would know. Gave a fake number then also. Starting with a 5 when it was supposed to be a visa (which always start with a 4)