I received an email yesterday asking me to sign up to M&S Mastercard Secure.
So, I clicked on the link and the first screen just asked for my email address (which they, obviously, had) and my card number. So I filled that in, feeling slightly uneasy, even though the address at the top looked ok and it was a secure site (https).
So I pressed NEXT
And was most unhappy about the next screen which asked for my name the secure code and expiry date.
Umm, NO WAY!
So I phoned Marks and Spencer Chargecard Customer Services and got routed (of course) abroad.
Now this causes me a problem as I am somewhat deaf and I almost always have to ask the operator to slow down her speaking because I am having difficulty hearing her; a further problem was with the pitch of her voice. So she said she would but didn’t. At last after seemingly endless repetitions, we seemed to understand each other and she confirmed that they had been sending out such emails.
So, I went back and filled the details in, but spent the rest of the day feeling somewhat uneasy about the whole thing…
… and didn’t sleep well, so at about 5am I sent an email asking for confirmation that this was all right.
And then later this morning, I called again, and this time got a gentleman whose English was good and whose voice I could hear. He confirmed that Mastercard had indeed been sending out these emails and it was really all right.
I am keeping a very close eye on my account……
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5 comments:
I would have asked for someone to call you back, mentioning you find it difficult to hear certain pitches; call centres can and will do this to help customers but my commiserations with you it can be difficult.
Sage
Could be worse, as one person's unfortunately experiencing . . .
You will be pleased to know that this securecard stuff IS genuine.
I had it pop up the first time I was buying some tickets online, so I was EXTREMELY suspicious.
Mmm,
I have used a securecard thing with my (Tesco) credit card, and didn't have to set it up via an email, but just to confirm a few details, like, for example, the 1st 3rd and 4th numbers from my pin and the 2nd 4th and 6th letters from my password, so that at no time did I have to enter EVERYTHING. It is this latter that leaves me feeling so vulnerable.
No rogue payments made with the card - yet.
Some banks are very bad with security. I would cancel your card with M&S at first available opportunity - they should NEVER initiate an email correspondence asking for your details. This is completely unacceptable banking practice, as it opens the door to phishing scams. In fact, if you can live without it, stop the card immediately.
Clydesdale Bank tell me that they will never ask for personal information in this way.
The same with a phone call: do not accept calls asking for details unless they can confirm who you are.
And finally: never click on a link to take you to a bank site. Always start by typing in the bank site manually in the browser bar - links can be disguised. For example, hover the mouse over any link and you should see the full internet address at the bottom. These can be very similar to a real bank link - but not the same.
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