...and it works very well, indeed.
You may get a call from "Visa" and a polite young person will identify him/herself, including a badge number. He will tell you that they are investigating a purchase which did not fall within your 'normal pattern.'
He/she will verify your name, address, and that you did NOT make the purchase he/she describes.
Then--here's the payoff--they will ask you to verify you are in possession of the card, by asking you to read to them the security code on the back of the card. At this point, you should politely decline and call the Security folks at "Visa" yourself to report the phone call.
Evidently this little scam works quite well.
C'mon Dad, all these scams work, to a greater or lesser extent, because people are stupid. If you're overly concerned with material things, or have a "maybe I'll get something out of this" attitutde, you're very likely to fall for these scams. My step-Mom comes to mind. She's a smart lady, but her priorities are screwed up. She's fallen for scams in the past, yet, she knows best.
ReplyDeleteDad: Did you, in fact, fall for this scam?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Scar.
ReplyDeleteSince all my cash is tied up in short-term debt, nobody even WANTS to steal my identity, or my Visa authorization/PIN number.
This may seem odd coming here, but I just remembered.
ReplyDeleteI was auditing your credit purchases and an odd entry appeared on June 12th. The purchase was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $382.92. Please confirm you did not make this purchase as soon as possible so that I can contest this charge.
To ease processing, please note your card number, expirations, and the last three digits on the back of the card.
MZ, that was my shampoo purchase for the remainder of the year.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was the Village Idiot. She fell for every get rich quick scheme out there ... bought tons of books and eventually left my dad broke and destitute by bleeding him out of two $50,000 IRAs for scams.
ReplyDeleteOf course she took the Eternal Dirt Nap in 1995 and didn't have to see the mess her idiocy left for her survivors.
She always thought there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The only pot there is a toilet bowl (that needs cleaning).
Sorry Dad - this is hardly a new scam - this one has been around for years.
ReplyDeleteI do find it rather amazing how well it works though.
That's an awful way to speak about your own mother, Peter. Shame on you.
ReplyDelete