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Have you been targeted by a card fraud phone scam?

Wednesday 2 November, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

Bank card fraudsters have conned over-60s out of more than £750,000 over the telephone so far this year, says the UK Cards Association

UK cardholders should beware of bogus telephone calls from their bank, card company or the police.

Why? Because fraudsters are increasingly conning people out of their hard-earned cash through an “old-style” phone scam, says the UK Cards Association.

According to the trade association for card companies, over-60s have been fiddled out of £750,000 this year alone through this swindle.

The scam works by fraudsters tricking people into handing over their credit or debit card and pin by ringing them up and pretending to be from their bank or another trusted source.

Detective chief inspector Paul Barnard, head of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU), said: “You should never give anyone your pin or punch the number into your phone as a result of someone contacting you out of the blue - wherever they claim to be from.”

Fraudsters phone people up claiming to be from somewhere like their bank, and tell the person targeted their card needs reactivating or authorising and they must key their pin into the telephone to do this.

The fraudster will tell the victim that their card needs to be replaced, and use either a legitimate courier to pick up the card or do it themselves. With the card and pin together they are free to squander your Jack Dash at will - an average of £10,000 is pilfered every time the scam succeeds.

Melanie Green, fraud expert at consumer campaigner Which?, advised those who think they may have revealed their pin or other bank security details in this way to “contact your bank immediately”.

The UK Cards Association and Which? have both issued steps to follow to ensure that you protect yourself from these phones scams:

• Your bank or credit card company will never call you and tell you that they are visiting you to pick up your card, so never hand your card over to anyone who claims they are calling on you to collect it
• Your bank or credit card company will never ask you to “authorise” or “reactivate” anything by entering your pin into the telephone
• Never share your bank or credit card pin number with anyone - you should only use it when you are using a cash machine or a chip and pin machine in a shop or restaurant