Authorities Warn Of New Credit Card Phone Scam

​Residents in Knox County are being warned of yet another phone scam.

The latest is a VISA and MasterCard scam. The caller will have much of the information about the victim and their card, with the exception of one piece they need to complete the fraud. 

The caller will state that they are with the Security and Fraud Department at VISA and that your card has been flagged for unusual activity. They will then ask if you made a random purchase at a random location for a large dollar amount. If the victim states that they did not make the purchase, the caller will then state that they will credit the account, with the credit sent to the victim's address.

The caller then states that they are launching a fraud investigation and asks the victim to verify the three-digit security code on the back of the card. The three-digit security code is the piece of information the scammer is looking for. They will then make a purchase for the same amount they stated as the fraudulent purchase in the beginning of the phone call. 

The call seems like a legitimate call from the credit card company. However, it is a scam. If you receive a call of this nature, authorities recommend hanging up and calling the number on the back of your card and speak directly with the VISA fraud department.