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Identity Theft

The nice young man on the telephone tells you he's from the security and fraud division of your credit card company and he's calling to help you. He asks for you by name. Clearly he already has your phone number.

So what's it about? He asks if you used your card to shop in, say, Burlington at the weekend. No, you say anxiously, haven't been there for ages. "We thought so," he says. "Somebody did, though, and charged $487.66 on your account."

You're starting to feel sick. "What did I do last weekend, anyway? Could I have sleepwalked to the car and driven to Burlington and back without waking up? Nah, not possible."

The nice young man is quick to reassure you. "We know it wasn't you," he says, "and we want to refund your money directly to your account. What's your card number again, please? Oh, and the three digits at the end of your number, on the back of your card?"

Maybe he already has your 16-digit card number and he reads the numbers to you to reassure you. Then he casually asks you to confirm the three numbers from the back of your card. By now, you're so relieved that you are going to get your money back that you give them up without thinking.

"That's right," he says. "Check your account in a day or two and the refund will be there. Have a nice day."

You have just been conned. The skillful thief doesn't have your card so he can't use it at the counter. But with the 16 digits of your card number, plus the three digits of your so-called verification number, he can easily order stuff online and have it delivered before anybody realizes what's happening. You may also get nowhere with your bank when you try to get a refund of the fraudulent charges if its people find that you voluntarily supplied the numbers. The same goes for the personal identification number (PIN) for your debit card.

Older seniors are particularly vulnerable to this kind of thing. They may be more easily confused or made apprehensive by a seemingly helpful caller. They may be more trusting than their children or grandchildren who have grown up in an Internet-saturated world.

The banks' security staffs are actually pretty good at using their computers to trawl for fraudulent charges. A while back, I noticed an unusually large and mysterious charge on my debit card from the previous day, when I checked the account online. I called the security number in the book and found that the anti-fraud folks had already flagged the charge as potentially fraudulent. I signed an affidavit at my bank branch that I hadn't drawn the money from an ATM. I had the cash back in a few days, plus a new card.

Another time, at a store counter, a legitimate charge was queried because it was much larger than my typical pattern of charges. I was impressed.

Some dos and don'ts

In a wicked world, you must try to stay alert and follow some rules of the game to avoid being expensively conned. Here are a few:

- If you find yourself on the phone in a conversation similar to the one I described, hang up without apology and call the toll-free number on the back of your card. True, you may need a magnifying glass to read it. Note to bankers: please print the number larger.

- Never give your PIN number to anyone. Remember that even your bank's staff don't know your PIN. Only the computers know for sure because of the way in which the number is stored.

- Never confirm any confidential information on the phone to a stranger who calls you. If somebody asks, end the conversation and call the organization's number as listed in a directory or on its website. Do not call a number your caller supplies. It may be a fake.

- The same goes for inquiries by email. Confidential information you supply that way is no longer confidential. No legitimate bank or financial company will ask you to do that. Again, help other potential victims and report any such attempt.

- Check your accounts as often as possible, ideally online or by using an ATM. Use your body to hide what you enter on the screen and be suspicious of people who crowd up close behind you or to the side.

- Remember that even paranoiacs have enemies. Be careful.

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