Report from The Nation/Asia News Network dated
The scammers of this digital age are so good that even the most cautious person can easily fall into their traps.
Just recently, a female executive received an unexpected phone call in the middle of a business dinner.
Normally, the worst case scenario for this situation would be the usual suspect - a very annoying telemarketing call. So why was she getting paler and paler?
The reason she looked so alarmed was that, in the space of less than a month, she had received similar calls from different callers, all on the same subject: the old car she sold 10 years ago. The exact details of the car - its make, model, colour, and even the licence plate number - were accurately referred to by all the callers, who were offering her a personal loan at "a special interest rate".
They all thought she must be in need of quick cash. She needed no collateral for this loan - but she needed to come out to meet the callers at an ATM!
Other popular targets of these scammers are people who travel a lot, like businesspeople, who make frequent financial transactions in random places. These people are targeted because they often pay by credit card so as to get a receipt with which they can later reimburse their expenses. By the time the card owner realises the fraud, millions may have already been spent.
In other cases, the victims are ordinary folk already struggling to make ends meet. Their lifetime savings are sucked dry almost as soon as they hang up the phone.
So just how is it possible for someone to get hold of your personal information like credit card numbers, past records of financial transactions or even full details of your car licence plate and ownership information?
The most basic way, which is now easy to spot and so no longer popular, is by duplicating your credit card information via the magnetic stripe readers at the gas station. Digging a credit card sales slip from a rubbish bin is also effective but a bit too primitive for many. Nowadays, hacking credit card information from e-shopping websites is one of the most popular methods for these cunning thieves.
Another possible but more organised method is through rogue telemarketing agents. These bad guys make copies of your credit card application and supporting documents and sell the list to illegal parties in bulk.
This kind of fraud is such a lucrative business that scammers have invested to open underground operations in countries where the laws are lax. No wonder the callers speak Thai with a foreign accent.
How can we minimise the risk?
• Never leave your credit card out of sight anywhere. Good department stores and reliable merchants will either ask you to come to the cashier counter or even bring a mobile card reader to you.
• After receiving a call from your bank, always double check with its call centre to make sure the call is really legitimate. It is very unlikely that banks will conduct financial transactions through an outsourced agent.
• Always check that your financial statement matches your sales slips.
• When shopping online, make sure the website you are browsing has the locked key symbol and its URL "https", or that the site certified by global financial bureaus like Visa or MasterCard.
Follow these precautions and you'll be able to say to these devious scammers: "Good riddance!"
Janejit Ladpli is vice president, Travel & Leisure Marketing Division, Krungthai Card (KTC).
How to say 'good riddance' to credit card scammers
By Janejit LadpliThe scammers of this digital age are so good that even the most cautious person can easily fall into their traps.
Just recently, a female executive received an unexpected phone call in the middle of a business dinner.
Normally, the worst case scenario for this situation would be the usual suspect - a very annoying telemarketing call. So why was she getting paler and paler?
The reason she looked so alarmed was that, in the space of less than a month, she had received similar calls from different callers, all on the same subject: the old car she sold 10 years ago. The exact details of the car - its make, model, colour, and even the licence plate number - were accurately referred to by all the callers, who were offering her a personal loan at "a special interest rate".
They all thought she must be in need of quick cash. She needed no collateral for this loan - but she needed to come out to meet the callers at an ATM!
Other popular targets of these scammers are people who travel a lot, like businesspeople, who make frequent financial transactions in random places. These people are targeted because they often pay by credit card so as to get a receipt with which they can later reimburse their expenses. By the time the card owner realises the fraud, millions may have already been spent.
In other cases, the victims are ordinary folk already struggling to make ends meet. Their lifetime savings are sucked dry almost as soon as they hang up the phone.
So just how is it possible for someone to get hold of your personal information like credit card numbers, past records of financial transactions or even full details of your car licence plate and ownership information?
The most basic way, which is now easy to spot and so no longer popular, is by duplicating your credit card information via the magnetic stripe readers at the gas station. Digging a credit card sales slip from a rubbish bin is also effective but a bit too primitive for many. Nowadays, hacking credit card information from e-shopping websites is one of the most popular methods for these cunning thieves.
Another possible but more organised method is through rogue telemarketing agents. These bad guys make copies of your credit card application and supporting documents and sell the list to illegal parties in bulk.
This kind of fraud is such a lucrative business that scammers have invested to open underground operations in countries where the laws are lax. No wonder the callers speak Thai with a foreign accent.
How can we minimise the risk?
• Never leave your credit card out of sight anywhere. Good department stores and reliable merchants will either ask you to come to the cashier counter or even bring a mobile card reader to you.
• After receiving a call from your bank, always double check with its call centre to make sure the call is really legitimate. It is very unlikely that banks will conduct financial transactions through an outsourced agent.
• Always check that your financial statement matches your sales slips.
• When shopping online, make sure the website you are browsing has the locked key symbol and its URL "https", or that the site certified by global financial bureaus like Visa or MasterCard.
Follow these precautions and you'll be able to say to these devious scammers: "Good riddance!"
Janejit Ladpli is vice president, Travel & Leisure Marketing Division, Krungthai Card (KTC).
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