The Marion County Sheriff’s Department is warning the public about a very sophisticated debit card scam. Here’s how it goes: I got a call, and the caller ID was my bank. The guy says he’s from the fraud dept, calling about my debit card ending in —-(the 4 correct numbers), and asks if I’d been traveling, reports 2 suspicious charges that happened at out-of-state stores (Lowe’s and Walmart). I said nope, it wasn’t me. He says they’ll send me a new card. He knows my address. He knows all my phone numbers. He sent a verification code to my cell and asked me to read it to him. THEN HE ASKS FOR MY PIN NUMBER so he can deactivate it. That’s where I said “no.” But he has an answer to my suspicions: He says to look at the number I’m calling from, which matches the number on the back of your card. It did! But still, I said let me call you back, and he hung up! I reported this to my bank’s fraud department, which said WE WOULD NEVER ASK FOR YOUR PIN NUMBER. (And immediately canceled my card.) They also said this is the new scam. They’re hearing about it a lot.
I also knew right away because, while on the call, I checked with my identity protection service, which would have alerted me before this call ever came. Please tell everyone you know about this scam and explain it well to the elderly.