Credit Card Fraud

People are finding more ways to scam people it seems.

There I was, sitting in my cubicle, minding my own business when I received a phone call from an unknown handphone number. I hesitated for a while but you know, it can be from anyone. Maybe, for once, my luck will change. I will win my dream car or something.

Apparently, it was someone from CPP Card Protection. For those who are not sure of the name, it is actually a service that offers protection for your card that includes credit card, debit card but I’m not sure about library cards. Worth a try though.

Anyways, upon picking up the phone, someone answered with a really confident voice, reciting my name at a speed of 30 km per hour. Yes, correct, that was my full name. But then he asked a question that made me wary.

‘ Can you please tell me your card number?’

Alarms started ringing in my ears. Newspaper clipping upon newspaper clipping flashed in front of my eyes. There were so many stories of fraud cases where people were persuaded to give their card numbers over the phone.

Instead of giving the information, I just said: It is all in the database, isn’t it?

And I guess, scamming people is what some of us do best. This scammer who introduced himself as Hafiz replied with a supposedly sarcastic comment like this: it is not in the system or otherwise I wouldn’t be calling you, right?

Guess what, right after that, the call dropped. Not wasting a breath, I called CPP itself.

It does not take a brainer to guess what happened next. CPP confirmed that they do not have anyone by the name of Hafiz who called me and they have a record when they called me. As for the call using mobile phone number, they said that calls from CPP are made via landline numbers.

And they reminded me twice to never reveal my card number to anyone over the phone.

So, here’s a little reminder to all of us. Never blindly trust calls from Maybank, VISA or any body asking for sensitive information such as (but not limited to) card numbers, mother’s maiden name, account number or password. In case we receive these calls, it is highly advisable to just hang up and call your respective banks. And never ever trust any emails asking for passwords for other email accounts or e-banking accounts.

Heard or experience this sort of cases? Come on, share with us.