From the Dept. of Redundant Security Department (DRSD):
THIS IS NOT A SCAM.
Many emails are scams, but not this one.
How do you know? Because it says right there, this is not a scam.
No scammer would tell you that they are not a scammer. It’s against the law. And no scammer will ever violate the law or try to mislead you.
What more proof do you need?
Like many things that metaphysically “might be,” the fact that no one can provide a single example of this ever actually happening strongly suggests that it is, in reality, “not.”
OK, I’m being dense. UL?
j
Urban legend. Modern day myths, in other words.
Told you I was being dense…
j
Update: Finally called the bank. It turns out that our Visa bill hadn’t been paid since mid-June. My wife has always taken charge of paying bills ever since she discovered in our first month of marriage (59 1/2 years ago) that I never bothered to balance my checkbook. Unfortunately, her short-term memory is getting scatty. I guess I will have to take over. Anyway, she paid the bill last night. And guess what? They called again today. Twice! Which had never happened before.
I think I will stop using that card. We used to have a substantial account at RBC, but they were so nasty we closed it. Our MC bill is automatically paid from our account, but a few places don’t take MC. So I think I will apply for a Visa account at a bank where we do have an account and try to make the same arrangement with them.
So I think it wasn’t a scam, but a terrible way to treat customers.
I’m glad you got to the bottom of it. I don’t know why companies like this cold call their customers and ask for identifying information. It makes it easier for scammers to do the same. If anything, they should say that there is an issue with your account and to call the number on the back of your card.
You shouldn’t have to switch Visa cards to have it paid automatically. Most Visa accounts can be paid with any bank account. It doesn’t have to be the same bank that issued the card. In the autopay setup, you can typically just specify the routing and account numbers of the bank account to be used for payment. It can typically be any bank account.
Remember @Hari_Seldon is in Canada.
In the US you can either arrange for the credit card company to vacuum money out of your checking account (“pull money out”), or you can arrange for your checking account to send money to the credit card company (“push money out”).
My late first wife was a banking attorney. I cannot stress too strongly the risks of pull option 1 and the advantages of push option 2.
Setting up a push is easy when it’s a fixed amount every month, such as a car loan or mortgage payment. But for e.g. utility or credit card bills that are different every month you need a way for the biller to notify the bank of the amount billed and a way for the bank to then decide how much you’ve authorized to pay and ten pay that on your schedule, not the biller’s. This requires both your bank and the card issuer to be cooperative and have fully capable modern e-payment systems. Which not all combinations of banks and card issuers do.
Conversely, it’s a very good bet that any bank which offers checking or savings accounts and also offers cards has a way for their bank to push-pay their own card on your schedule subject to your selected limitations.
Yeah, good points. Another reason is do I want to continue doing business with such a sh***y company. We closed our bank accounts with them for reasons. On one occasion we deposited a largish cheque into that account drawn on our account on a bank almost literally across the street. The cheque cleared that afternoon. Nonetheless they would not let us draw on that for 8 days. And were very snotty about it.
I’m so happy you got it sorted @Hari_Seldon .
The scammers and spammers have just muddied so much water it’s hard to see what’s happening.
I always block and call. It’s the only way IMHO.
I’m pretty sure that 5-6 years ago there was a scam where they got you to say yes to an innocuous question and used it to switch your phone or some other utility contract.
ETA: Yes here is one thing about it:
I get almost daily calls, most of which are from people with heavy Indian accents, and Western names. They are calling for “Medicare Benefits” Today I asked if the lady was calling from India, there was a long pause, and then they said they weren’t and tried to continue their spiel. I called them a number of vulgar things and hung up.
But I’ve had two recorded calls, and when I used profanity to the recording it actually replied, saying “You don’t have to be rude!” and the line hung up.
I get those. Sometimes I tell them I’m thirty-five years old (that immediately kills the interest of someone looking to scam a Medicare recipient). Sometimes I tell them I just broke into the house looking for something steal and decided to answer the phone. Sometimes I just hang up on their sorry ass.
My wife’s brother will talk to them. He’s a pretty smart guy, at least in some ways, but he’ll let these callers do whatever it is the want to do. He’s too nice, too genial, not to hear them out. I love the guy to death, but when he tells me about that stuff, I want to smack him upside the head in frustration. “DON’T TALK TO THEM!” Aarrrgh.
Google assistant(s) are programmed so that they’ll chide you for rudeness or anatomically incorrect suggestions.
But it was pretty much debunked after the initial breathless reporting died down.
So far, any financial institution that voice-verifies me does it by me stating a previously-agreed-upon code word, or my name plus some other words. (Not just “Yes”.) I’d be happier if I had to recite the first line of the Gettysburg Address.
I get the “Medicare” calls all the time. Apparently my direct work line was previously owned by an older lady, so I get a combination of targeted calls and out and out scammers. It’s the worst.
I posted the following question in the Scam thread, but the thread has been dormant for a few weeks. So I’ll drop it here as well.
I might have a scam check (or maybe not).
Got a $1000+ check from something called NCP Healthcare Mgmt Co. No letter, just an attached portion claiming it’s “Pt Overpayment Refund” and a date from last month. The date itself doesn’t correspond to any treatment or doctor visits I’ve had.
Going to the company’s website I find a lot of corporate BS about “Professionals in the Field of Healthcare Planning and Management”, and two phone numbers. One is disconnected, and the other goes to an answering service which claims “They’re out to lunch.”, no matter what time you call. The entire company goes at once I guess. 
I got curious and googled the company’s address (from website), which seems to be in a strip mall somewhere between a Lowes and an urgent care facility.
So my question: How does this scam work? If I deposit the check and it’s no good, how do the scammers benefit? Other than wasting my time, what do they gain?
FTR: Here’s their website: https://www.ncphealthcaremanagement.com/
I don’t know the answer to your questions, but I might consider taking it to the bank it was drawn on and try to cash it, instead of depositing it in your bank account. (If it was an obscure, non local bank, I might try to see if I can get in touch with a branch to inquire about the check - although I’m not sure exactly what you’d be able to find out - but I wouldn’t try to deposit it).
Instead of messing with the bank end of things, I’d start by contacting all the medical providers who recently did your eye. Ask each of them if they use “NCP”.
Nowadays lots of medical providers outsource all the billing & insurance flail to dedicated services. Many of the companies in that line are Mom n Pops with little more than a storefront or PO Box, with most workers at home working on their computers.