Five Questions About: The card pin scam

PIN scam? What’s the point of that?

Frauds want to capture your personal identification number (PIN) so that they can empty your bank account.

How does the new scam work?

You’ll get a phone call from your bank telling you your credit or debit card needs collecting and replacing after fraud on your account. The caller will tell you to hang up and call your bank for confirmation. But the caller simply stays on the line so you’re not actually on a new call. When you next speak to the caller, he’ll ask for your PIN and then arrange for a courier to come and collect the card.

I get it. The caller is not from the bank, is he?

No he’s not and neither is the “courier”. But once they have your card and the PIN, the crooks can go on a spending spree.

People don’t fall for the trick do they?

The crooks target older people with the average victim aged 69. Financial Fraud Action UK says the scam caused £7.5m worth of fraud in the first six months of the year with 1600 people caught out losing an average £4,200.

How can we stop the fraud happening?

Tell everyone that a bank – or the police, for that matter – will never ask for a PIN and will never send someone to pick up a card. If a caller asks for your PIN, hang up at once.