Scam and Phishbusters → [Credit Card Fraud] Chase Credit Card call-back number 1-800-454

I was very suspicious when I heard a voicemail message from Chase United Mileage Plus Credit Card urging me to call 1-800-454-9078 regarding a unusual purchase on my credit card. I download transactions into Quicken and had not seen anything unusual come through.

I Googled the phone number, found a reference to this site, and a report by someone who called the phone number on his card instead of the 800 number sent to him, in his case, via email.

Good idea, I thought, so I called the phone number on my card. I was asked to enter the last 4 digits of my card and the first 3 letters of my mother's maiden name. Then a recorded voice read off 5 purchases. The first one was an online purchase made today for $11,499!!! The next four were all under $100 and were actual purchases.

I was then connected to a real person. He said the suspicious purchase had been rejected because the 3 digits given for the back of the card did not match mine, but because an attempt had been made to use my card number they would cancel this card and issue me a new card in 3 to 4 business days. I'm glad I took this seriously!

The OP is a bit confusing because it seems to describe 2 suspected (perhaps coincidental) same-day cases of fraud:
1) The suspected phony call you received (alerting you to an unusual purchase on your card), and
2) The attempted large purchase on your card.

To clarify for everyone:

• If you receive a call or email about fraudulent activity on your card don't call the (sometimes toll-free) number provided.

(Spoofers are having computers place fraudulent calls to people leaving messages about supposed fraudulent card activity, leaving a toll-free number to call back, which is answered by a computer that prompts the cardholder for his card number, ZIP, last 4 SS#, etc.)

• Always call the number printed on your card or statement to verify the issue. This way you can have greater confidence that you are talking to the real credit card issuer. (But see below for a developing potential issue !)

• Keep the other number and have the real credit card issuer verify whether it is a real number of theirs or not.

Please note: The security experts are now speculating that because some banks are now using VOIP phone lines, hackers could (in the near future) infiltrate the VOIP lines and hijack inbound calls from customers. When they do this, you could call the number ON YOUR CARD and hacking software at the bank's call center could divert your call to a fraudulent computer that would ask you to enter your card number, password, etc. At that point, the hacker would have your login info - even though you did everything right.

»www.macworld.com/news/20 ··· rc=mwrss

If I get a call to contact one of my credit card issuers and don't recognize the number as one of theirs, I intentionally make a "mistake" in one of the items requested for verification. If it doesn't catch it, it's clearly not them.

Good that you followed up on that voicemail message you received from Chase from 1-800-454-9078 alerting you to a suspicious transaction ..That call was from the Chase Fraud Department.

But your calling the number on the back of your card to check it out was a good move on your part in playing it safe and making sure you were really contacting Chase.

It wasn't a phony call he received..that number..1-800-454-9078... that left him the voice message was Chase Fraud Division calling to alert him/her.

But with that said, I agree that anyone receiving a call or find a voice mail from their alleged credit card company would be better off using the customer service number on the back of their card to inquire about the call/voice message they received.

But in this case, the voice message left was legit.

I edited my post to reflect this. thanks

It's not a bad idea to pull out your last statement from any institution and use the contact numbers listed - they should be the most accurate & up-to-date.