How the scam works:
You get an email that seems to be from your credit card company with the following message:
“Dear MasterCard Member, under the User Agreement, Section 9, MasterCard may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your credit card and refuse to provide our services if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or our company. The terms and conditions of your card state that your card must always be in the control of you or those you designate to have control. We have noticed some unusual activity on your card that indicates other parties may have access to and/or control of your credit card.”
The email goes on to tell you that you won’t be able to use your credit card online unless you create a “Secure Code.” It tells you, “MasterCard SecureCode enhances your current MasterCard account with a secret code to protect against unauthorized use of your card when you shop at participating merchants. To restore your Credit Card status click the link below.”
Of course, the link won’t take you to the MasterCard website, but it will take you to one that looks just like it. And, if you type in your information, it will then take your banking information. Needless to say, your card will be maxed out by the scammers in no time unless you cancel it.
How to avoid:
Anything you receive from a financial organization will never refer to you as “Dear Member.” Official documents are always personal and will have personalized information. Secondly, most institutions will prefer to call you, rather than email. Personal information is rarely discussed over email, unless you set it up that way.
Make your friends and family aware of this scam by sharing it, using the buttons provided.
Verify a website below
Are you just about to make a purchase online? See if the website is legit with our validator:
vldtr®
TOP 3 MUST-WATCH FRAUD PREVENTION VIDEOS
1. Top 5 Amazon Scams in 2023 2. Top 5 PayPal Scams in 2023 3. How To Spot a Scam Email in 2023
- Latest Posts by Selma Hrynchuk
-
Activate The WhatsApp Gold Version
- -
Beware of Gmail Scams: Don’t Fall for the Latest Google Docs Phishing Scam
- -
New Email Hacking Scam Targets All Accounts
- All Posts
OPEN LETTER AND PETITION FOR HELP
Further Comments and Documentation on Webtech Craft and Chase Card
(The below are comments sent to the Federal Trade Commission and following that some further comments in a plea for assistance and help.)
Federal Trade Commission
(3:00 p.m. 08/05/2015)
# 64680971
On 12/10/14 a Chris called and said that he was on a national secure server and that he sees viruses and Trojans on my computer (his company was soon given as Webtech Craft). He asked to be allowed on my computer to show me the viruses. I did, and he showed me nine viruses and said he would remove them. He said that they use software that was far more potent than my present service (ATT) uses. He told me they would give me added protection and that I could get a reduced "three-year plan" for $249.99. I was ignorant and fell for the scam. I gave him my Chase Freedom Credit card number and he sent me a contract to sign and return (scanned). He installed a Team-viewer portal by which I could reach them. I only used their service twice: once to try installing Skype (which he couldn’t altogether) and to run one virus check. ATT is my primary tech service. They also unsuccessfully tried to install Skype. Following my membership, I started getting frequent calls from various computer companies saying they saw viruses on my computer. On 05/08/15, a "Jason" called from ATT (this was NOT ATT!) and reminded me that this person had worked with me on Skype problem (this person had NOT!). He then took me to the same phony website that "Chris" had taken me on 12/10/14 and showed me the ‘same’ phony file (crss.exe) that Chris used. They wanted to sell me AVG software. I refused. (They said their number was 1-877-303-2243, which does connect to ATT, but was being used by this scam company. Caller ID also showed 1-202-407-9787 [this last number 1-877 has continually shown up to date]). This scam operation has continually called here with the same techniques and even gives phony addresses. ATT told me on 05/08/15 that this company was using some kind of "voice over" numbers and probably were calling from India. ATT told me that Crss.exe was a phony website. A phony David Williams called me from "Windows Help and Support Center" on 05/21/15 under Terrence Mooney at 120-895-8998 and I told him I was going to report him. He laughed and said he was going to "fuck up my computer." I contacted ATT and they did find viruses and took them off. When we tried to change my password, we were locked out. I had to go for help and reinstallation at Home Depot (Dave Dukate, 314-351-5607). I have written a 22-page diary of events, listing all the voice-over calls, and my filing a complaint to the Chase Freedom Card as well as the FCC and the FBI. I have filed with the Missouri Attorney General (Lesha Bommel: 573-751-3321). Nothing from most, so far, and the biggest disappointment was Jessica Daniels from the Chase Card; she said they will refuse to help me to investigate this company and will force me to pay. I also sent my diary to the Missouri Division of Finance, per request of the BBB. I will also mail this 22-page diary as evidence to the FTC at 600 Pennsylvania in two days. I plan on contacting the police department (15-039645, Det. Mike Hodge: 444-0100), per ATT (Whitener) request. Most disappointing is the moral ineptitude and lack of fiduciary concern on the part of Chase Freedom Card Company. It would seem that as public and moral citizens, they should be willing to help set up criminal "sting" operations to disable such criminal elements as a protection against scammers and for their clients and the public. Instead, they act as if in collusion with the scammers or as their private attorneys. Please help me to deter this company and get my losses back: $249.00 – WEBTECH, $220.00 – Home Depot. I am willing to work closely on aiding and instructing a sting on these people. Contact me. independenterdmann@gmail.com.
#######
WebtechCraft, LLC., 98-1277 Kaahu-manu Street, Ste. 106/553, Alea, Hawaii, 96701. 1-800-961-5102, 1-800-230-6165, P.O. Box 1480, Pearl City, Hawaii, 96782, USA.”
########
To date, I have written 22 pages in a diary outlining the events and incidents borne out the initial contact with Webtech Craft on 12/10/14. The scenarios get depressingly narrow as each agency I contact fails to do any kind of investigative work: despite the fact that the Internet is full of websites that tell of identical scams to mine and how they have been caught in this web of criminality. ATT informs me I have been scammed (I called “Chis” [CM 3765] [210-821-4105] in Dallas, Texas) and that the constant telephone calls I am getting are from these scammers. The FBI does not respond (in fact their IC3 website did not work for me, and I mailed the diary to them instead), Scott Whitener from ATT Fraud (ph: 331-9805, cel: 614-5797) no longer responds, and calls to the ATT Fraud Department at 1-800-337-5373 (options #1 and # 2) no longer get a real operator, but only recordings for messages. I have contacted every single source that was recommended to me, including the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In the case of the CFPB, they told me on the phone that they do no investigation and were as much as only paper-shuffling-clerics who will seldom go out on the limb for victimized clients. In fact, a conversation with “Jan” on 09/03/15 (W242534) more or less confirmed this. The CFPB rather cavalierly mailed my “complete” diary to Chase Card containing very private information that should only concern an active private investigator — at this point, Chase Card has told me they do “no” investigation and will not move actively against Webtech. This mailing-action is of no worth or value without a true investigation. Chase Card (which seems to have had a history of being prosecuted itself) keeps demanding “proof” – either they pretend to never have visited the Internet, but, at any rate, they don’t say what ‘proof’ they need.
#######
Telephone calls come into my home regularly and show up on my caller ID of all sorts and variety, some as the actual ATT tech service number (which Dallas tells me, it is ‘not’ them and they do not customarily contact their clients in this fashion), others as strange digits and codes, and when I do answer, the scammers pretend to be either some strange company or Microsoft or ATT. What is scary is that the amount of knowledge they have: a call on or about September 1, 2015 was a ‘111 unavailable’ number, and I did answer, only to be told he was ATT checking on work that tech support had done on 8/18/2015. I told this person that I knew he was not ATT, and he hung up the call.
Here is the problem: I had done legitimate computer work with the real (?) ATT on the 18th! How did the scammers know that? How did they obtain the information that I had done work with the real (?) ATT on the 18th?
It is called “Phishing”: but does that include obtaining you private information illegally? You can see that this is no mild problem and needs direct and personalized care. I am open to all suggestions and leads. independenterdmann@gmail.com.
The following are a list of Websites that talk about identical scammer-problems and are listed on the Interest; how can Chase Card pretend to be ignorant of such as widespread and well-publicized problem?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/active-network-san-diego
https://support.authorize.net/authkb/index?page=content&id=A676
https://www.creditkarma.com/article/credit-dispute-didnt-work
http://www.fraud.org/news/57-tech-support-scams-costing-computer-users
http://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/scam-alert-are-you-getting-phone-calls-by-people-claiming-to-be-tech-support-563986/
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action/how-to-report-a-scam
http://blog.credit.com/2012/06/despite-attention-payday-scammers-keep-calling-58818/
http://www.secretservice.gov/criminal.shtml
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/internet_fraud
http://www.ncua.gov/about/Leadership/Pages/page_omb_bio.aspx
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/202752940-Your-Role-in-the-FCC-Consumer-Complaint-Process?from=button
Waiting to hear from someone. Don’t let me down.
Stephen Erdmann
independenterdmann@gmail.com
dissenterdisinter@yahoo.com