Fake Credit Card Scams

Broadcast on NBC

MEREDITH VIEIRA, co-host:

And still ahead, it happens to millions of people, criminals stealing your identity with credit card scams. We're going to show you how to protect yourself.

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(Unrelated Segments)

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MATT LAUER, co-host:

How's this for a nightmare?  Your credit card statement arrives full of charges you didn't make. Or even worse, you check your bank account and it's empty. They're often the first clues to a shocking discovery that your identity has been stolen.

It's so common that TV commercials joke about it.

(Clip from Citibank Commercial)

LAUER:  A stranger takes over your identity and your valuable credit. But it's no joke when it happens to you. But how likely is it?  It happens once every two seconds. That's thousands of times every day. In fact, 9 million consumers had their identity stolen this year alone. And while some identity theft scams are getting more sophisticated, others use simpler means. Our scheme:  posing as a bank to gain confidential information.

Unidentified Woman #1 (Pretending to be Scammer):  I'm with Bankers Card Services. What we're offering right now is a brand new credit card.

Mr. JIM STICKLEY (Cyber Crime Expert):  You guys want to sign up for a credit card today?

LAUER:  Identity theft expert Jim Stickley and his team from TraceSecurity set up a kiosk offering a credit card from a bank we invented to demonstrate just how many people are willing to give out their most private data.

Unidentified Woman #1:  There's your Social Security number. And your mother's maiden name.

LAUER:  92 percent of the credit card applicants gave Bankers Card Services their Social Security number without even questioning the legitimacy of our phony bank.

Mr. STICKLEY:  Have you ever heard of Bankers Card Services?

Unidentified Man #1 (Consumer):  No, I never heard of it.

Unidentified Man #2 (Consumer):  No, not at all.

Unidentified Woman #2 (Consumer):  I've never heard of Bankers Card Services before.

Mr. STICKLEY:  We basically made up the company name, made up everything. To sell the scam was really easy. We rented a kiosk, this metal box, basically, that has a computer in it. So it looks really professional. We get a table, we put a tablecloth on it, then we get a sign that we get printed. That's all there is to it.

LAUER:  With a $5 gift card offer and a prime sidewalk space outside the University of Texas bookstore, we just waited for students to do the rest.

Mr. STICKLEY:  They think they're signing up for a credit card. In reality, they're not. They're signing up for our scam.

This was a scam. There's nothing about this that is real at all.

Unidentified Woman #3 (Consumer):  Students are very vulnerable to giving out their information. I think that's why a lot of these companies target students, because they are very naive.

LAUER:  With the same offer, we tempted another group, shoppers at a mall in suburban New Jersey. And we got similar results.

Unidentified Man #3 (Consumer):  Just figured that the zero percent interest rate would be good for me.

Unidentified Woman #4 (Consumer):  You're in the mall, and you look like trustworthy people.

Unidentified Woman #5 (Consumer):  I get nervous putting in my Social Security number. That's the only thing I really get nervous about, though. The girl was nice, so.

Unidentified Man #4 (Consumer):  She got us.

Unidentified Man #5 (Consumer):  I was about to go shopping, so my mind was absolutely not on people stealing my identity.

LAUER:  The good news:  With identity theft now at an all-time high, not everyone was so trusting.

Unidentified Man #6 (Consumer):  I have to give you my Social Security number?

Unidentified Woman #1:  Yes.

Unidentified Man #6:  Not going to do that today.

Unidentified Woman #6 (Consumer):  The Social Security. When they had to get the Social Security card, I was like, no way.

Unidentified Woman #7 (Consumer):  That's just, like, the basis of everybody's identity, and if that number gets out, then, I mean, you're pretty much sunk.

LAUER:  So what lured those who were convinced to give out their private information?

Unidentified Man #7 (Consumer):  I'm one of those people that isn't going to say no when you ask.

Unidentified Man #8 (Consumer):  She had an appealing offer for me.

Unidentified Woman #1:  Very few people asked about the bank and its credentials. They were so quick to trust and just to walk over and enter in information.

LAUER:  Jim Stickley is an identity theft expert from TraceSecurity.

Hey, Jim, welcome back. Good morning. I'm just amazed at how this thing wasn't elaborate at all. I mean, basically it looks like you took 15 minutes to put together this kiosk, and yet people came running.

Mr. STICKLEY:  Yeah, it was--I mean, it was really easy to set up. It was really easy to do. And like that, people just came out of the woodwork to do it.

LAUER:  Once you told people that this was all a fake and all phony, the people who'd already given you their personal information, including their Social Security number, what kind of reaction did you get?

Mr. STICKLEY:  Well, I mean, obviously you got that kind of surprised look of, you know, confusion. And then what was really interesting is people would go, 'Well, you know, at the time I was putting information in, I was--I was kind of nervous, or I didn't really want to give you the information, but I did it anyway. ' And you're like 'Why? '

LAUER:  And it's not that we haven't talked a lot or--on all shows, in magazines, talked about identity theft. Is it that idea that you're getting a good deal?  Is that what makes people abandon their common sense?

(Graphic on Screen)

Identity Theft

-Your Social Security Number
 Is The Key To Your Identity

-Victims Spend Approximately
 330 Hours Recovering

-Victims Usually Spend 4-6 Months
 Regaining Identity

-In 2006, Identity Theft Victims
 Lost An average of $1,200

Mr. STICKLEY:  I think the good deal, and then also, they're not expecting it. It's kind of out of the blue, put it in front of them right away, and it's just like you have one second to make a decision. Make it quick. And if people go 'Good deal,' making it quick.

LAUER:  Maybe you make a good point, because if you--if you see something flash in an e-mail computer, you're probably more apt to be suspicious than when someone is so brazen to put a kiosk right in front of a bookstore in a college town.

(Graphic on Screen)

-Only 50% Of Money
 Is Usually Recovered

-Only Apple For Credit Cards At
 A Bank Or Trusted Online Site

Mr. STICKLEY:  That's exactly it. I mean, it's just--it's sitting there, they're like, 'Wow, if it's outside it must be legitimate because it's got this big metal box. '

LAUER:  What could people do?  If there were people in that neighborhood or at the mall in New Jersey or any of the other locations you guys set up shop, how long would it take for someone to research that particular bank, find out it's phony and call the authorities?

Mr. STICKLEY:  It would take them probably just a few minutes, actually. I mean, because they could just start trying to call up, and there's no business such as that. So, I mean, just try to reach the number, and it won't exist.

(Graphic on Screen)

-Be Cautious
 Research Credit Card Offers

LAUER:  So again, the main thing you want to communicate to people is anybody asks you for any piece of personal information, in particular your Social Security number, stop and ask yourself a number of real serious questions.

Mr. STICKLEY:  Exactly. You want to, first of all, to say, 'Is this a legitimate company? ' And if it's just out on a sidewalk somewhere, maybe you want to think twice. On the other hand, if you're going into a bank or a credit union, you're going to feel a lot more comfortable. And really, that's where you should be spending your time.

LAUER:  All right. Jim Stickley. You're getting dangerous, Jim. Thanks very much. We appreciate it. Good having you here.

Mr. STICKLEY:  Thank you.

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