(WFRV) – With a new Visa and Mastercard scam sweeping the Midwest, Wisconsin officials are urging residents to be wary of callers posing as credit card companies.
According to the Minocqua Police Department, there has been an uptick in cases involving scammers calling victims and pretending to be the security and fraud department at Visa.
These scammers claim to have detected an ‘unusual purchase pattern’ and are calling to verify that the suspicious activity was not the victim.
Officers note that oftentimes, the scammer will tell the victim that the suspicious activity involved a purchase of an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona.
Once the victim denies having made said purchase the scammer will tell them that they have been watching this company for some time and they will be issuing credit to the victim’s account. They also assure the victim that they will be starting a “fraud investigation.”
The scammer will then ask the victim to confirm that they are the cardholder and will ask the victim to tell them the three-digit pin number located on the back of their card.
Police note that the scammers will not ask for the victim’s seven-digit card number because they already have it, they just need the three-pin security number to gain full access to the card and its funds.
The scammer…
