The whole new level of credit card fraud calls

Yesterday a friend, busily working in office, got a call from his credit card Bank inquiring if he was receiving Bank Statements on time. The call was from Chennai, as usual, so the caller, a female voice, had a south Indian accent. She told him that they received many complaints about frauds and non-receiving of statements. She was very convincing; she told him his Credit Card Number, official and residential address, and said that his card was getting upgraded.

She then asked for his CVV no., Date of birth and expiry date, which he readily gave. He gave the details because:

• Fraudsters usually know  only the last four digit of the card number.
• They do not know the address.
• They do not know full name.

Genuine Calls Vs Fraud Calls

Everyday we read and watch a number of messages and videos warning us from being mislead by fraud calls. Yet we get caught off guard because the fraud callers use a new technique, every time, to win the victims confidence. However there are a number of differences between a fraud call and a genuine call from the bank:

• Genuine calls do not ask for you verification. They call you for upgrading a card because you are pre-verified, and fulfill the eligibility for a upgraded card.
• Your verification detail is asked when you call the banks customer care, and not when they call you.
• If someone says he is calling from the insurance department, then it is a fraud call. Insurance department never makes such calls.
• If the callers asks you if you are an account holder of a particular bank, that means he is not calling from the bank. Had he been calling from the bank he would have known that you are an account holder.
• No bank will ask for you CVV no. or OTP (One Time Password). These are  your ‘exclusive keys’ to access your account.

Precautions to be taken

• For those who do lot of online transactions, keep your personal and social media accounts separate.
• Possibly use your name differently in the social media accounts.
• Possibly use different emails and sim cards for social media and personal/professional accounts
• Install Truecaller App on your mobile phone. Most fraud calls will appear as ‘fraud/scam calls through truecaller. Even if you get fraud call from an unidentified number, save that number as ‘fraud/scam’ calls.
• Inform the elderly about the fraud calls and tell them not to divulge any information on phone.
• Tell the caller that you will call back the bank and give the information they are asking.