A NEW CREDIT CARD SCAMI had a phone call earlier today that

A NEW CREDIT CARD SCAM


I had a phone call earlier today that the voice messaging service I have with the phone company picked up as I was unable to reach the phone on time, as usual. The caller ID said "Private Call" and I suspected that it was probably no one I would care to talk to, but I waited a little while to see if a message would be left, and when I did pick up the phone, the beep-beep-beep-beep told me I had one.

The message was from someplace called "Credit Card Services" and the automated woman's voice said that most people didn't know that credit card interest rates were set to go up, and in order to get a 4.99% interest rate, to press the number 9 "NOW". The message repeated that command a couple more times.

I had been eating my lunch so I finished that and then took a nap before remembering that I had wanted to call my credit card's customer service number to report the call. I did so and the lady I talked to said that was definitely a scam and that I should call my Better Business Bureau and report it. In the process, she talked me into fraud protection on that credit card (the one I mostly use) in the amount of $7.99 a month, but it doesn't take effect until I complete a form that will be sent in the mail, so I can still change my mind; besides, it's a very small amount considering the protection I will get.

I came online to see if I could find a way to report the call to the Better Business Bureau here, but I found that I needed not only the company's name but phone number to report it. I didn't have get that information so I wasn't able to file a complaint at the BBB's online site. (I was amazed at the number of companies in the U.S. named "Credit Card Services".)

I no longer have the phone message because my first reaction was to press "3" to get rid of it. The lady at my credit card company said that the scam would have been to try to get my credit card number and expiration date, and that this type of thing generally works with older people, who get confused by the information given. (Hey, I'll be 60 soon; I imagine that this is probably the first of a lot of this kind of phone call that I'll be getting as I age.)

I was able to find a phone number for the Portland, Oregon Better Business Bureau that I may call. I certainly want to do what I can to fight this scam. That's one reason I'm blogging about it. I don't think I am read that much but I know that J.D.'s Get Rich Slowly site is, and if you want to use this information in any way, J.D., be my guest.

This kind of thing is very maddening to me, and I would like to see these people stopped!

A later note:

I called the Portland Better Business Bureau, where I learned that, as was said on their site, they can't do anything without a company name and phone number, so if you should be confronted with a phone message or call like I received, perhaps it would be best to try to get that information without giving any of yours. I am on the "Do Not Call" registry so that is another reason why they shouldn't have been calling me, so I had another reason for gathering information on them. Again, though, I seem to react like a typical older person and instead of challenging this company who is trying to scam me, I panic and don't take an assertive position with them. If you have an opportunity to do what I didn't here, all I have to say is: Go get 'em!