Phishing - make sure you don't get caught
Spring 2006
Further to the article “Take care with your cards” in the last
issue of Reflections, we thought we should expand a little further
on the subject of Visa fraud in this edition. While not wanting to
be unduly alarmist, we feel that forewarned is always forearmed in
these circumstances.
Recent research by APACS, the UK payments
association, indicated that UK card fraud losses totalled
£439.4 million in 2005, a fall of 13% on the previous year.
This fall is mainly attributed to chip and PIN which has already
resulted in a reduction of nearly £60 million in combined
counterfeit and lost and stolen card fraud losses, a fall of 24%,
and in mail non receipt fraud, which fell by 45%. Despite a
reduction in all other card fraud types, card-not-present fraud
(CNP) continues to rise. CNP refers to transactions made by
internet, phone and mail order, and continues to be a
significant problem with losses rising by £32.4 million - up
21%.
CNP frauds are often operated on-line where
they are known as ‘phishing’, because of the way they trick a user
into revealing their personal security information. This is done
through clever scams over the telephone (see below) or through
official looking emails purporting to be from banks or credit card
companies. The simplest response to any suspicious or unsolicited
emails is to ignore them and contact the company direct. If they
are a scam, it is important that the company concerned is advised
as soon as possible. Similarly, care should always be taken that
card purchases are only made through legitimate websites.
The VISA Security Department recently advised
us of an ongoing card scam that operates over the phone. A person
calls and claims to be from the Security and Fraud Department at
VISA. They identify themselves and say that they are calling to
verify an unusual purchase pattern on your card. They then give out
details of the issuing bank and the alleged purchase details.
Once the purchase is denied, the caller
promises to send a credit and reads out your address for
confirmation. They say they will be starting a fraud investigation
and give you a 6 digit control number. The caller then says
they need to verify that you are in possession of your card and ask
you to give them the last three numbers on the back of your card.
This is the key part of the scam and under no circumstances should
you give out these numbers. They are security numbers that are
designed for you to use when making internet or telephone
purchases, to prove you have the card. Once the caller has
these three numbers from the back of your card, he has the ability
to charge purchases to your account.
In conclusion, you should never disclose your
security numbers to anyone who calls or contacts you. Instead, tell
them that you will call the card issuer direct to clarify any
issues. VISA have advised that they will never ask for any numbers
on your card, as, since they issued it, they already have a record
of this information. It is also vital that you never let your card
out of your sight when paying in shops and restaurants, as this
gives any potential fraudster the opportunity to copy your card and
security numbers.
If you have any concerns about
card-not-present fraud, please contact our client services team who
will be delighted to advise.