Very Clever Credit Card Scam!

Give this wide distribution.
This scam is actually very clever.
Just when you thought you'd heard it all.
Be very careful out there!

Beware of people bearing gifts.
The following is an account of the incident from the victim:

Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was
from some outfit called: "Express Couriers,"(The name could be any courier
company) He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for
me that required a signature .

The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an
hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up
with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very
surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly
didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender
was.
The courier replied, "I don't know, I'm only delivering the package."
Apparently, a card was being sent separately... (the card has never
arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there
was a $3.50 "delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had
actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not
just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone,
especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the
delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so
that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a
legal record of the transaction.
He added couriers don't carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for
robbery.

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit
card, and 'John,' the "delivery man," asked him to swipe the card on a small
mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. Frank, my husband, was
asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a
copy of the transaction. He guy said everything was in order, and wished us
good day.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday,  $4,000
had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM
machines.

Apparently the "mobile credit card machine," which the deliveryman carried
now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy"  card with all our card
details including the PIN number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately
notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit  account
was closed.

We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is
definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you
neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any  kind
of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never
accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no proper
identification of who the sender is.

Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit  card
information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!

PLEASE   Pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled.

Aussie Paul.