Somebody tried to spoof me. I was on vacation and got a call that purported to be from my credit

[raccoon]

union. The phone displayed "Member Services, XYZ Credit Union."

The caller, who had a foreign accent, said somebody tried to buy something on Amazon using my debit card, but they had caught it and stopped it. Said my debit card was compromised. I asked how did I know if he was legit. He rattled off an address I didn't catch, and my SSN--which was correct. He asked for my 3-digit security code on the debit card.

Thank the Universe I didn't give it to him! I said I didn't have my card with me. That was the first thing that came into my head.

It all sounded hinky.

When I called the credit union, they said somebody was trying to spoof people who had accounts there. (Wasn't it Equifax that was hacked not too long ago?) Some people had been taken.

I called the 3 credit reporting agencies and froze my accounts.

I never knew about "spoofing" before this. It's when somebody calls you and the phone displays a caller's info, but that's not who is really calling you. I read on the Net that it's not too hard to do.

Yall be warned!

[Eyeball_Kid]

1. Thanks. n/t

[Phoenix61]

2. Anytime I get a call/e-mail saying it's from

a financial institution I hang up and call the number on the back of the card. One time it was a legit fraud case on my Discover card.

[csziggy]

3. Calls I have gotten from my credit card security people have not asked for info

They gave me just enough information to verify the account and asked if the charge for $xx at such & such vendor were legit. Both times the charges were legit and I OK'd them. I provided no information that they did not already give me.

That reminds me - I need to call the credit card companies and let them know we will be out of the country in a couple of weeks. They get upset when my husband goes to DragonCon, only five hours drive, and I didn't let them know. They would probably freeze our accounts if we went to Mexico and didn't notify them!

[Lochloosa]

4. They will. Voice of experience.

[colsohlibgal]

5. I Only Answer If I Recognize The Number

If it is a legit call they’ll leave a message.

[customerserviceguy]

6. Here's how I handle that

My default ringtone is one second of silence. Anybody I care to talk to has a "specialized" ring that is a normal phone ringtone. So, I don't even get bothered by these scammers, I just notice that someone called and didn't leave a message, thus I know it was BS. Anybody who leaves a message, like a doctor's office, is probably legit, although two months ago, I did get about one call & message per hour from some recording threatening to turn me over to the local "cops". Not "police", "sheriff", or "law enforcement", so right away, the recording's lack of use of a professional term let me know that it was a scam.

[Fla Dem]

7. Exactly how I handle it. Have ringtone identities. Anyone else can leave a message. However....

sometimes I answer just to play along with the call and give them a hard time. Guess I have an evil streak in me.

[Kali]

15. oh I like that silent normal ringtone

good idea!

[customerserviceguy]

17. Yeah, you can find one for free to download, that's where I got mine

years ago. I used to use it only for spam/scam callers that I would give a name to, but I started running out of derogatory names to use. And when my Bluetooth connection in my car uploads a new list, it flashes through the names, and I realized that if the wrong person was in my car (like Mom) and she saw "Assholes" come up on the screen, I'd have some 'splainin to do.

[Honeycombe8]

8. I never give out any personal info to anyone who calls me. Never. Not...gonna...do it.

They have to email me, and then I would go to their website independently. Which is the normal process for businesses, anyway.

My credit card will call to verify a particular purchase, if it is out of my normal buying practices. But it's automated, I think, and merely requires that you say yes or no, that it is or is not a valid purchase by me. No private information is asked.

[cstanleytech]

9. They are trying all sorts of spoofing scams. For example there is one where they spoof ATTs number

to make you think its ATT calling you and they give you a song and dance about how you can save money by paying 6 months in advance.
They then ask you to buy a gift card to pay for it and thats the catch because if you pay with a gift card you cannot get the money back where as if you pay via CC you can dispute the charges.

[FakeNoose]

10. I received spoofed robo-dialed calls a lot

These aren't for credit card spoofing, this is a company that went to an incredible amount of trouble to get me to answer the call and listen to their BS recording about Medicare services (or some such thing.)

At first I was fooled into answering the calls because my caller ID displayed a local number, but no name. Maybe it was one of my friends or neighbors, maybe it was a local merchant, so I would answer the phone. But it was the same damn recording every time! The puzzling thing was that they used a different - local - phone number on each call. I blocked all those numbers on my Verizon digital phone and yet they kept using different numbers calling a couple times a day.

Finally I got the NoMoRobo ap that's offered by Verizon (and maybe others) that detects robo-dialed calls and BANS THEM! My life has been so much better for the last few weeks, and I think this pest is finally gone.

The credit card spoofing that you describe would mean a live person on the other end, so it's quite a bit more sinister.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. I have a landline

...and like anyone who still has one, I'm well acquainted with spoofed numbers. I often get calls from local numbers that turn out to be "Rachel from card services". Anyone with a landline will be on a first name basis with her and her "friends".

Now I use a special ring for friends & family and generally ignore the rest.

[Archae]

12. Rachel and Heather!

Both are so irritating, and one of their calls used on my caller ID the name and number of our local hospital.

[Totally Tunsie]

13. I actually once had a call that showed up on my Caller ID as coming FROM me to me. Duh...

It was early on in the spoofing genre. I phoned my carrier and asked them how this might occur. Even they couldn't explain it at the time.

[Grammy23]

14. My brother in law got a call from

Himself! On the caller ID it had his name and number. That is one way to get your attention. But he ignored it assuming it was a scammer or spoofer, which it probably was. LOL

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

16. I get a disability pension from the Veterans Administration

I just got a letter from them asking if I approved a change in my direct deposit information. I am going to call them and give a very firm no. One thing they are asking for was my VA claim number, and I am going to ask if the person asking for the change had my Social Security number.