Saturday Forecast/Credit Card Scam/Hurricane Paloma

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma is a Category 2 hurricane and will hit Cuba late Saturday, then move through the Bahamas and out into the open waters of the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, the north-central and Great Lakes region of the country will be dealing with wintery conditions--snow and highs in the 20s and 30s. Much of the south will enjoy dry weather. The Pacific Northwest will also be showery.

Houston weather will be chilly in the mornings and warm and dry in the afternoons...Saturday will be especially nice.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
I spoke to a Mom's group at Prince of Peace Catholic church this morning. They had child care...so it was very peaceful. Ha! Ha!

So our word for the day is babysitter or canguro, pronounced cahn-GOO-row. It is wonderful sometimes to have a babysitter.

Doing some Christmas shopping this weekend. Don't forget to order our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I have to fly as I am involved in a very personal and important event tonight...I'll have more on this tomorrow.

In the meantime, I want to tell you about a terrible credit card scam. Here are the details:


Snopes.com says this is true. To verify see this site:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.One of our employees was ca lled on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based inArizona ?'When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit wil l be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jas on Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instruc ted by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Have a safe weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman