Representatives claiming to be from credit card companies may be trying to obtain critical information to allow them to charge Kansas consumer's credit cards, while claiming to be helping prevent credit card fraud.

Attorney General Steve Six announced today that his office was alerted to a fraudulent pattern that has impacted Kansas consumers in recent days. The scam has already been reported in five Kansas counties.

The caller, claiming to be from Visa or Mastercard, says they are calling in response to an unusual purchase pattern on your card. They will already have your credit card number and address – the only thing they are missing is the security numbers printed on the back of your card in the signature line. They will ask you to “verify” this three-digit code to prove that you have not lost your credit card. This verification will then give the scammer access to your credit card for online purchases.

Keep in mind that these con artists are good at convincing consumers and will offer bogus assurances that they are calling from the credit card company, such as name and a “badge number” or other ID number to corroborate their scam.

Your credit card company will never need to call you for the numbers on your card; they issued the card and have that information readily available.

As always, consumers should be very cautious about giving out personal and financial information to someone who calls them on the telephone and should promptly file a police report if someone tries to obtain personal information over the telephone.

If a consumer believes they have been scammed, contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 1(800) 432-2310