I almost fell for it. It seemed legit. To be fair, I was on vacation. I was in a different headspace. I was up early to watch the sun rise over the lake. I did the thing that nobody should do first thing in the morning, especially on vacation: I checked my phone. Before coffee.
An early morning urgent text message from a 1-800 number claiming to be my credit card company notified me of potentially fraudulent charges on my account. It offered me a direct link to a customer service phone line to verify the status of my account. It sounded authentic, until it didn’t.
I reacted impulsively, as you do when you see a note stating that you are a potential victim of financial fraud on your credit card, the balance of which will be used to pay for your current vacation. Of all the time to find out I’d had my account hacked. I hit panic mode and called the number provided.
The nice man on the other end of the line claimed to represent my credit card company and assured me that once we verified the false charges, he would ensure they were not processed, explaining that a new card would need to be issued. First red flag.
The nice man then asked my date of birth and address to confirm he had the correct person associated with the account. Fair. Identity confirmed, though he didn’t ask my predetermined security questions. Second red flag.
Then the nice man asked me for the last charge on the card. It was a bakery, the name of which I foolishly provided. Third red flag. Shouldn’t he know the last charge?
According to the man, the fraudulent charges to my credit were over $1,500 to Amazon for stereo equipment and another $500 to a gift card company for several gift cards. I felt my throat tighten.
Giant red flag. I purposely maintain a low credit card limit to stay within my means, and since I already had racked up a balance, technically my card should not have allowed either of these purchases. There simply weren’t enough funds available. Huh.
Then, the nice man asked me to read the numbers of my credit card starting with the numbers 4,8. Credit card in hand, I knew those were not my first two numbers. I asked him to repeat the question, because our language barrier was making it hard to understand. Flustered, he repeated the question starting with the numbers 4, 8.
Caught him. In a calm, frighteningly uncaffeinated tone, I politely declared this call to be a scam. I heard the nice man say to his criminal call centre cronies, “she knows it’s not her number,” before he hung up on me. I poured a cup of fresh coffee and called my credit card company to make them aware of the scam and confirm my account’s standing. All was well.
I share this with you because I think when we get duped we feel dumb. Had I not had my wits about me, this could have gone wrong fast. In fact, ignoring the first red flag was my first mistake. I am not uneducated about these things, but I was vulnerable. This could happen to almost anyone. And it does, every day, to good, kind, smart people. There is no shame in that.
Protect yourself. Please protect your senior relatives, too. Have the conversation often. Look out for each other. And always report it.
