Credit Card Limit Scam

Here’s a new scam being reported in the Metro. A card holder receives a call from somebody saying that their credit card limit has been increased, all they have to do is surrender their credit card (so that it can be replaced with a new one) to a banking representative that will visit them.

The almost-victim called up the bank to verify and found out that it wasn’t true. She went to the police instead and they were successfully able to en-trap the person. Found in the person of the messenger was a letter and identification card bearing the bank’s logo.

The scammer was not an employee of the bank, so how else were they able to do this? Discounting the fact that it wasn’t an inside job from the bank’s credit card department. It was possible that the culprits got hold of the person’s credit card statements. Since almost all relevant information about the credit card holder can be found there. Such as the name, address and credit card limit. From the address one can easily visit the house, do a little social engineering and obtain the person’s contact no.

That’s why it’s always good practice to dispose of your credit card statements properly. And by properly we mean burning or shredding it. I read in a paper before that there were people paying those who make their living scouring the garbage dumps for any pieces of banking statements or credit card statements that they could find.

One must also not be so casual when giving away personal information about oneself. Such as one’s birthday, full name, phone number and address. Since these are but some of the information needed to verify ones identity over the phone by a financial institution.

As with the case of credit card limit upgrades, I know that this can be done automatically without having to surrender your card to a bank.

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