COLORADO SPRINGS (KOAA) — A viral post on social media is shedding light on an old scam that can be easy to fall victim to.
Recently, the Stone County Sheriff's Office in Missouri shared a post on Facebook warning that some scammers may already have your personal information including part of your card number and your address, and they can use that information to fool you. The post has been shared more than 25,000 times in just a few weeks.
Retired FBI agent Lee Walters is the president of Excalibur Private Investigation, with locations in three cities across the country including one in Colorado Springs. Walters spent 24 years with the FBI and has more than a dozen years of experience as a private investigator.
"We get calls probably three or four times a week on something like this," Walters said about this type of scam. "Quite honestly, a lot of your personal information is out there on the internet. It's easy to find."
This particular type of operation is known as a phishing scam called the "Bank Impersonation" scam, according to a spokesperson with Visa.
Based on the information provided by the Stone County Sheriff's Office, here is a summary of how it works:
1) You receive a call from someone claiming to be from Visa or your bank, they may even provide a badge number to sound official.
2) The scammer makes it sound like they are looking out for you, and that they detected an unusual purchase pattern tied to your card, they may even know what bank you have.
3) THE HOOK: The scammer provides you with your address and part of your credit card number. This gives the victim a false sense of trust.
4) The scammer asks for the three-digit security number on your card to "verify" you are in possession of it, and that's what they're after and if you provide it they may have just gained access to your money.
Walters has heard from people who have lost thousands of dollars to scams just like this one.
"I've seen anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000," Walters explained. "It's heartbreaking... seniors are preyed on a lot for these kind of scams."
Visa tells News5 that criminals are using artificial intelligence (AI) to their advantage.
"With the uptick in AI, fraudsters are able to create more convincing scams than ever before, so it’s important to always independently verify that someone is who they say they are," part of a statement from Visa to News 5 reads. "If you get a call from someone claiming to be from your financial institution, hang up and call the back of your card (this will not be Visa, it will be your bank). It’s important to never give a one-time password to anyone else, and to keep your CVV codes, card numbers and PINs to yourself. Do not just assume that because your caller ID says it is your financial institution that it is credible, as these can be faked and spoofed."
Both Visa and Walters gave similar advice, starting with you should never give personal information to someone who reached out to you.
HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF:
-Never provide personal information over the phone to someone who contacted you unexpectedly
-If you receive a questionable phone call like this, hang up and call the number on the back of your card directly
-You can report scam calls to the FTC by clicking here cal or file a complaint to the Colorado No-Call list by clicking here.
WHAT IF YOU FALL FOR THIS SCAM?
-You should immediately call the companies where you know fraud occurred
-Place a fraud alert and get your credit reports
-Report the theft to the FTC and local authorities
-Click here for a full checklist from IdenityTheft.Gov.
Walters adds it is critical you act right away if you believe you are the victim of a scam like this.
"The longer the scam is going on, the more chances that you're going to lose more money, your identity is going to be used in other scams to purchase other things," Walters said.
Walters says it isn't impossible to recover your money if it is stolen like this, but it can be hard since in his experience many of the scammers are overseas.
"There are some things that a private investigator can do to try to track some of that stuff down, but it's very hard to get that money back," Walters included.
Visa also provided the following resources for the public:
- Fraud Prevention Guide: Social Engineering [usa.visa.com]
- Fraud Prevention Guide: Phishing [usa.visa.com]
- Fraud Prevention Guide: Identity Theft [usa.visa.com]
- Fraud Prevention Guide: Digital Skimming [usa.visa.com]
- Fraud Prevention Guide: Account Takeover [usa.visa.com]
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