Summary

Dr. Preeti Singh recounts her encounter with a credit card scam where a caller, claiming to be from a handicapped society and now working with a bank, attempted to solicit her CVV number under the guise of returning a donation.

Abstract

Dr. Preeti Singh shares her personal experience with a sophisticated credit card scam. The scammer, posing as an acquaintance from a past NGO collaboration, contacted her with claims of working for a bank and possessing a donation she had made. He requested her CVV number to return the funds, citing her credit card number to appear legitimate. Despite the caller's persuasive tactics and detailed knowledge of her past activities, Singh remained cautious and refused to provide sensitive information. The caller persisted, even threatening to find her CVV number by other means, but ultimately did not follow through. Singh uses her experience to warn others about the dangers of such scams, emphasizing the importance of never sharing CVV numbers and being vigilant against fraudulent calls, even from seemingly trustworthy sources.

Opinions

The author expresses skepticism about the caller's authenticity, despite his knowledge of personal details.
Singh highlights the importance of not divulging sensitive information like CVV numbers over the phone, regardless of the caller's persuasiveness.
The author believes that the caller's sweet and convincing demeanor is a tactic to deceive and def

Did A Credit Card Scam Hit You

It hit me today

The authentic phone call

The phone rang. It was an unknown caller but it was a persistent ring. I was coordinating a quiz program and I thought somebody might be calling me to find out details about it.

I did not want to appear rude so I did pick up the phone.

Hello! I said

“Mam this is Harish (name changed) on the line from the handicapped Society Of India. I met you in 2019 at your office and you had given me some student volunteers. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I remember”, I said.

He made me believe that he knew me very well and remembered me as he described the meeting and good coffee that he had with me in my office when he asked for student volunteers for the NGO that he worked in

“Mam, I am now working with Scottish Bank” (Fake name). “We are holding Rs10,000 of your money” (Indian money)

“You had given this amount as a donation and we did not use it because the government gave us a big grant and now we want to return it to you”.

He cited the correct credit card number and said that he wanted to deposit it in my account and wanted my CVV number.

I immediately felt there was something wrong and I was alerted.

I refused and said sorry I cannot give my CVV number and I would like to meet him before I could give it to him.

He said that he had no authority to meet me and the money was in the account for only one week and if I gave it to him it would be immediately deposited into my account.

I said I had given the money as a donation so let it go. I did not miss it for the last three years and did not want it back.

He was very upset and called me thrice again.

When I called him back the phone did ring but he did not pick it up. He messaged me that he would call later.

He called me again and said that it was alright even if I did not give my CVV number he had ways and means to find it and would deposit the amount to my account.

This is certainly a scary scam.

Questions and surprise

I had a few questions in my mind.

How does he know my credit card number?
Is he the person I actually met in 2019?
How did he know my organization's name where I worked with my exact designation and the names of the students who had gone as volunteers?

He was so sure that he would deposit the money into my account. Of course, nothing came and the number was disconnected. It is no longer there.

He never called me again.

My advice and closing thoughts

Never give your CVV number to anyone even if they say they have met you unless you are sure you know the person.
You will be deceived and will be looking for money that you will never get.
You will instead lose money in your account.
Be careful and safe. The caller will just be sweet and ensnare you in the web but you will be robbed high and dry.

I am safe and I wish you well and hope you will be safe too because the voice on the phone is very convincing and sweet and soft. You cannot imagine that it is fraud. A credit card scam.

It has happened to a friend of mine and she has lost a lot of money from her bank account. She suffered from a mental health problem with a huge loss of money.

Beware of people ready to defraud you.

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