This credit card verification scam has a different beginning — but the same end
Have scammers changed their tactics to use newer and more direct methods after the seeming decrease in scams and phishing messages this month following raids on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs)?
The reason I am asking this is because I received a call from the number 0967 923 0091 on August 8. The man introduced himself as “Brian Go,” said to be an employee of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI), and was asking about a transaction which I allegedly did at a Mac store in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig that exceeded P80,000. If you are charged for this amount that you did not, you will surely listen to such calls.
I received a similar call twice, one involving a transaction in Washington DC, USA — even though I wasn't there — and a transaction using a popular travel app. In the same call, the person wanted to confirm if I actually made the transaction, which I said I didn't. Both transactions were canceled or subsequently reversed. [READ: Credit card fraud in Philippines up 21% since pandemic]
Now, this Brian Go — who seems like a professional — used a similar script that real identity checkers use. What gave me initial doubt that this was not a scam call was that he knew my BPI credit card number, which he asked me to confirm over the phone. Since I was driving to work when I received this call, I had to pull over on the road and check my credit card number to see if it was my 16-digit number.
