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Warning: Phone scam targets credit card holders

“Hello. According to our records, you’re eligible for an increase to your credit limit.” It’s a familiar line.
Scam
Phone scams that target credit card clients are extremely common, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If you receive a phone call that appears to be a scam, officials urge you to report it immediately.

“Hello. According to our records, you’re eligible for an increase to your credit limit.”

It’s a familiar line. Someone is calling, offering to lower your credit card’s interest rate, but the person on the other line isn’t a bank official or a representative from any credit card company. They’re scammers looking to cash in on desperate individuals.

Dan Williams, a senior supervisor at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, says this type of scam is incredibly common and likely won’t end anytime soon.

“That’s a massive problem, it’s been going on for years. Many different outfits are involved, and they usually end up asking the consumer for about $695 for the service, and what the service actually entails is just providing the consumer with some generic information on how to speak with banks,” he says.

One Burnaby woman, who did not want to give her name, received one of these scam calls last month. But before they could offer her an attractive new interest rate on her Visa card, she hung up the phone and immediately reported it to police.

While the scam didn’t work in her case, Williams says that’s not often the outcome. According to Williams, this scam is successful because of two main factors. Firstly, the average person isn’t very informed about credit cards and the regulations that govern them, and secondly, many Canadians have thousands of dollars of credit card debt, making the scam extremely appealing.

Many of these types of scams claim to be representatives from either major banks or credit card companies, which is an illegal act.

“The only people that could actually lower your specific interest rate would be the bank that issued it or the company that issued it,” he says.

Williams says the best thing to do is to hang up and call the bank or credit card company that was quoted in the call and ask if they’ve been contacting customers. If they say no, call the police or anti-fraud centre right away, he adds.

For more information on common scams, or to report a scam, visit www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.