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Telephone Scams: Your Credit Card was Used in Fraudulent Activities

Everyone by now should have heard about the telephone scams involving a caller who claims that they are from the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) or the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

These tax agency scams generally receive the most coverage, but some don’t get much attention. Recently, people have also received calls from individuals claiming to be from their “bank” that inform the receiver how their credit card was used in fraudulent activities.

What is the scam?

A person receives a call from an individual who claims they are an employee at their “bank.” The individual then notifies the receiver that their credit card has been used in fraudulent activities.

At this point, the person claiming to be from the bank hangs up the phone. However, instead of actually hanging up the phone, the scammer plays a dial tone. This scheme creates a sense of panic so that the receiver will want to call their bank back.

Without realizing that the call is still connected, the victim dials the number that is on the back of their credit card. Then another scammer comes back on the line and fakes being the credit card company.

They push for the receiver to aid in their investigation and transfer money into another account. Once the victim transfers the money into the account, they have fallen for the scam.

How is this different?

This type of scam requires the receiver to use an old phone that doesn’t have caller ID or to not have caller ID in general. If a receiver had caller ID, they would realize that the call is still connected.

This would have alerted the receiver that something strange was going on. This could have potentially ended the scam before the receiver transferred the money.

How can you protect yourself?

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