At 7:37 pm EDT on June 3rd I received a call from 1-800-830-8574. Like many, I don’t answer calls on my personal cell phone from numbers I don’t recognize. Because the call was forwarded to voicemail, the automated message was cut off and left me with little information about the nature of the call, but I was able to gather that it was related to a MasterCard account. The only MasterCard in my checkbook is my PayPal debit card. So, I at least had that piece of the puzzle.
So I Googled the toll free number and found a plethora of contradictory information about the motivation for & intent behind calls coming from 1-800-830-8574. There were many people providing grave warnings against returning the call with assurances that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, this was an advanced phishing scheme designed to con you into divulging your credit card information. Others vehemently stated those claims were false and with absolute certainly declared that the number was from a legitimate third party credit card security firm hired by your financial institution to verify the recent activity on your account.
As is so often the case when conspiracy theorists act on unsubstantiated suspicion alone and publish their opinions as fact despite a complete absence of supporting evidence, I ended my Google search no more sure of the truth than when I started. After reading retorts from tinfoil hat wearers claiming that posts from those claiming the number was legitimate were a part of this elaborate phishing scheme, I knew I would find no clear answer on the Internet. Sigh…
1-800-830-8574 – to Call or Not to Call…
The next day I received an e-mail which appeared to come from PayPal. Here’s a screenshot of it:
Hmm…first a call and then an e-mail. If this is a scheme, it’s a pretty elaborate and potentially effective one. I decided to do what I normally do with e-mails that supposedly come from PayPal that may not be on the up & up. I forwarded it to spoof@paypal.com and decided to wait to hear back from them before returning the call.
Coulda. Woulda. Shoulda Called Back 800-830-8574
The next day I tried to use my PayPal MasterCard and the transaction was declined. Uh-oh…that’s not good. Either that call and e-mail are legit or someone had already stolen my credit card info & spent all the money in my PayPal account. Son of a bitch! Since my card wasn’t working already, I figured the damage done by returning the call at that point would be negligible. Cut to me dialing 800-830-8574.
Here’s what will happen when you return the call:
- 1. An automated system will answer with a greeting explaining the reason for the call.
- 2. You’ll be asked to verify the phone number you’re calling from.
- 3. You’ll be asked to verify that the phone number you’re calling from is the number associated with your credit card account.
- 4. Next you’ll be asked to enter the last 4 digits of the card number.
This is where some people get their panties all in a knot, hang up the phone and then run to the Internet to warn everyone against returning calls to 800-830-8574. To them, being asked to verify an account by inputting the last 4 digits of the card number is absolute proof of nefarious intent. Many of these nonsensically hyper-reactive dolts even perpetuate the falsehood that the last 4 digits of your card is all thieves need because receipts (like those printed at gas pumps) include the first 12 numbers and then 4 Xs instead of the last 4 digits. Seriously?!?
Have you ever looked at a receipt? If you care about the facts – which those prone to knee-jerk reactions generally don’t – the last 4 digits of the card are the only account numbers printed on receipts with the first 12 appearing as Xs. Hooray for facts.
Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s move on to the remainder of the call. Once you have verified your phone number and the last 4 digits of your account number, here’s what happens next:
- 1. You’ll then be asked to verify your name (you’d chuckle to hear the automated system pronounce mine…).
- 2. The system will then read back the last several transactions on your account to verify their legitimacy (authorized, press 1; unauthorized press 2).
That’s it. YOU do NOT give THEM your personal information. THEY verify YOUR information, including the merchant details and transaction amounts. If this were a phishing scheme, they would not have that information. If they did, they’d already have access to your account and there would be no reason for them to contact you in the first place. DUH!
Once you have done the “press 1″ and “press 2″ dance indicating whether the last 5 or so transactions are authorized, the automated system thanks you for calling and advises you to call the customer service number on the back of your card if you have any further questions. Which I did. Immediately.
PayPal’s Confirmation of 1-800-830-8574′s Legitimacy
As soon as I ended my call with what is only generically referred to as “Card Services”, I called PayPal. Their representative, Patti, confirmed that the hold had been removed from my account and that the call I received from 1-800-830-8574 was a legitimate security precaution. She said my account was flagged due to a suspicious transaction, which I can only assume was an online software purchase from a merchant located in France.
I received another call on June 14th regarding a second suspicious transaction (a magazine subscription that was declined because I neglected to update my card’s expiration date). While many have claimed to have gotten calls related to PayPal Mastercards as far back as 2007 or 2008, I’ve had this card for more than 2 years and have never received a call before. So it appears that PayPal is upping their efforts to protect account holders. Frankly, despite the minor inconvenience, I applaud the effort.
Who Is Behind 1-800-830-8574
Copyright First Data Corporation
From what I can gather from my research, the company behind the calls is First Data and they provide a host of services for a number of financial institutions.
You can read more about First Data & their Customer Alert services here: https://www.firstdata.com/en_us/products/financial-institutions/customer-contact-solutions#/1996_1990
The bottom line: calls from 1-800-830-8574 are legitimate attempts to verify suspicious transactions on your credit card account and should not be ignored! Do so at your own risk and don’t be surprised if your credit or debit card is declined as a result.
A final word of advice: don’t sit by your computer awaiting a response to a forwarded e-mail from spoof@paypal.com. I finally got an answer, but not until almost 2 weeks later. And here is a screenshot of it:
