NEW SCAM! BE CAREFUL!

This is very clever. I would probably fall for it if not warned. 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 a recounting 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 greeting 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 wife, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out her credit
card, and the "delivery man," asked her to swipe the card on a small mobile
card machine with a small screen and keypad. Fran, my
wife, was asked to enter her PIN number and a receipt was printed out. She
was given a copy of the transaction.

The guy said everything was in order, and wished us a 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had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM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