Have you ever been the victim of a phone scam? Do you know someone who has? According to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, Canadians lost over $160 million to scams last year.
The latest: a VISA credit card scam. A reporter with CTV News shared his experience. Here’s what you need to know:
The call comes in, and the scammer says they’re calling from the “Visa help department”. They start the conversation by saying you have a good payment history and rate, and they can now make it even better for you: ZERO PERCENT INTEREST for THREE YEARS…………all you have to do is confirm your credit card number. (?????)
So naturally, you’ll ask “why do I have to give you my credit card number? If you’re calling from Visa…you should already have it…..right”?
The scammer asks you to verify it and goes on to say: “don’t worry, I won’t ask for the expiration date or the 3 digit code on the back” (Thanks, that’s reassuring). That “zero percent interest for three years” is starting to sound really good now right?
The scammer follows it up with this: “the promotion is only available to Scotia Bank, CIBC, BMO and RBC customers” The caller says he’s not with any of those banks, and the scammer hangs up
PLEASE DON’T FALL FOR THIS SCAM. Just hang up.
