Glenn FleishmanScammers are getting cleverer. My spouse was just nearly phished as they caught her by phone just out of the shower with a "fraud alert," and gave her enough information she gave them a little—before realizing they weren't legit. They offered her the first six digits of her card, which means they probably knew the card issuer but not the full number. They wanted her to read the full card and she called foul and then called the issuer, who confirmed nobody had called, and hard card replaced.
Rogers Cadenhead@glennf Yikes. Glad she caught on.
David H. McCoyGreat catch! Good for her.
Steve's Place@glennf The first digits are common among brands. They don't uniquely identify anyone. That was sneaky.
drts@glennf I told my old dad to always tell anyone who call him, even me, that you have to call them back. Problem solved.
mybarkingdogs@glennf Something almost exactly like this happened to a friend of mine on Facebook. It's one reason I tell people not to trust *any* unexpected cold call/text/message.
It's likely a scam. If you find yourself getting a warning/threat/whatever other "act now" motivator, it's REALLY likely to be a scam.
mkb@glennf Thanks for the heads up!
Unless folks have worked with payment card security (#PCIDSS) they often don’t realize the first six digits are often handled like the last four. They don’t require the same level of security precautions as the full card number to they are more likely to show up in breaches.
Also, the first six (called the BIN) are potentially deducible based on other personal info because they follow a consistent format designating card brand, etc.
Mans R@glennf 6 digits will only identify the payment network (Visa, etc) and card issuer. If the card was from a major bank, they probably simply guessed it and got lucky.
@mansr Oh, I thought first four were network, not first six.
@glennf The first six digits are the Issuer Identifier Number. This identifies the payment network, card issuer, country, currency, type of card (debit/credit), etc. There's more info and a decoder at https://www.bincodes.com/.