Credit Union cardholders receiving calls to confirm personal details - 27 September 2008

An Indue credit unions has reported that three different members were called last week by a company calling themselves something LIFE (the cardholders could not remember the full name). The caller advised the cardholder that they had won a trip for 4 to Mexico and all they needed to do was pay $599 for taxes. ***Please note that this scam has now progressed and the caller is advising that he is calling from Visa and puts a Supervisor on the phone as a validation.***

In two instances the caller read out to the cardholders their correct card numbers and asked them to confirm the CVV2 and expiry.

The only obvious similarity between the cardholders is that they are all over 60 years old and reside in or around Sydney.

Abacus has advised that this has been reported by other Credit Unions. In each instance (and also for the Indue Credit Union) the activity was reported to Visa. No links as to how the card numbers were known ever was discovered.

An email from a member who was contacted by the scammers, describing their experience has been forwarded to ORION. Please see the email below:

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Dear Sir
Reporting a possible scam attempt??? Could / might it be true???
On Friday I received a telephone call from some-one with an Indian accent (call centre?), announcing that I , as 1 of 15 lucky VISA card holders in the whole of Australia, had won absolutely free, an all inclusive, a14 day/ 13 night holiday to America for 4 persons (Mexico - 6 days / 5 nights; Orlando Florida - 5 days / 4 nights; Daytona Beach, Florida 3 days / 2 nights). Also included were Movieworld / Seaworld passes, all meals, accommodation, drinks with 85% reduction on airfares..some other titbits I can't recall. The offer would be valid for 12 months but I would need to pay the government taxes AUD599.00. I was asked , immediately, to verify my card number so that the documentation could be sent to me. I refused to do so over the phone. I asked for the prize to be sent to me as they obviously had all my home address details.

I am sending this for your information.
Cheers
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Visa has advised that in these instances it is consumer fraud awareness training that is most valuable. Visa also add that issuers may want to alert their customers and to recommends issuers to place a suitable warning on cardholder statements at least annually.

If your organisation has experienced similar activity, please contact ORION.

Thank you
ORION Team.

Verified by VISA Phishing email - 26 September 2006.

An email was sent out over the weekend supposedly from Visa advising of an authorisation change. Please find the email text below. This is a phishing email and is not genuinely from Visa. If you have received this or similar emails, please DO NOT click on the link or reply to the email, instead you should just simply delete the message.

Thailand Card Fraud Alert - 27 June 2006.

Members who have used their cards in Thailand, particularly Phuket over the last 12 months are advised to check bank accounts and statements for any suspicious or unauthorized transactions. QPCU has been notified of a counterfeit card concern in Thailand comprised through wire tapping and skimming. If you have detected anything unusual please contact QPCU on 131 468.