83838

Got a text message from the number 83838 on my mobile saying:

A blance transfer has been recieved on your A&L credit card ending ****. If you requested the balance transfer reply yes, if no reply no.

I relpied no.

Then get another text with no number says "MoneyAlert"

The balance transfer will now be investigated and a member of our fraud sepaertment will call you to discuss this further.

Sounds abit funny to me, any ideas?

Cheers

I had the same text message.

have decided to ignore it as I don't have an A&L credit card

I had the same but I do have a Virgin card.

I had the same the day after I had applied for a balance transfer. I rang Virgin and they said the txt was genuine and that it was a security precaution as my account had not been used in a long while. So no worries.

I just got one and it was MBNA asking for date/country if i was planning to travel abroad soon.
I called customer services and it was a legitimate number and text.
Still... not sure I like the idea of sending a text about when my house could be empty!

Also got the same one today. Glad I Googled the number but they should not text as it cold easily be fraudulent

Received text from my credit card company asking if I was going abroad to reply with the country and travel details. Correctly contained part of my card number so I called and it is genuine

Just got txt after asking for balance transfer on my virgin card.problem is that it was sent to my husbands mobile phone with last 6 digits of my credit card! When I went online to my account to check phone number registered with virgin they had my mobile number not my husbands so now I am confused.the cards arnt linked either they are 2 separate accounts. Not sure if I should reply to text or not. Any ideas how this could happen?

I just had the same text today saying a bank transfer had gone in to my credit card. For a start I  did not posses that card also the text came through on my business mobil/cell number which isn't registered with any personal  financial organisation. That said the text is a fake. I believe they are looking for any kind of response so they know the cell/mobile number works so they will then continue to use the number for any perpose they like or sell the information to another company for them to spam text/calls to.

Don't respond,  it will only subject you to more spam / sales calls! From multiple organizations

I just got a text from Virgin about a balance transfer I made on the net last night. As I did make this transfer, I said 'yes'. Subsequently got a text from "Money Alert" saying "Thanks for confirming the balance transfer...". All this if fine with me EXCEPT that Virgin does not state anywhere you will get these texts, so I have to spend time googleing the thing.

Got the same text this morning about a balance transfer I requested last night on my Virgin card.  Didn't even occur to me it may be spam!  I answered 'yes' and also got a second text from Money Alert confirming balance transfer will be processed

Got a text thanking me for using my BT credit card to top up my Orange Pay As You Go phone saying if you dont recognise this reply NO. Thing is the top up was on my wifes phone but the text came to me so seems genuine, just a bit odd.

I had a similar text this am from Virgin Atlantic AmEx MBNA credit card about balance transfer I had ordered yesterday over the phone (with all the correct security questions answered). Googled it like everyone else and saw the ambivalence here so phoned up Virgin Atlantic help desk.

The first chap (in the Balance Transfers department) at first said that it sounded like fraud (which had me very worried as I had used another phone to make the balance transfer call) so asked to be put through to their fraud dept. They came back to say that the text was genuine.

So not even their own staff know about it. I have of course requested that they do publicise it on their site somewhere (as I had checked that too).

I received a text about my credit card, it used the correct last four digits, confirming a transaction was approved but to answer no if i didn't agree with it. The text was sent to my company phone and not my personal phone and looks clearly like a spam text.

it is defo a genuine text. i got one yesterday saying a £30 transaction had been approved for vodafone which i hadnt used. didnt reply to text but rang virgin and they confirmed it was a genuine text from them and that someone had got hold of my card details and had put through two £30 test transactions for vodafone and 6 £1 test transactions for whsmith!!! obviously my card has now been stopped. but if anyone gets this text from 83838 dont ignore it, contact virgin.

I can confirm Spike's comment.  I had exactly the same scenario with a vodafone top up, although in my case the text was about an MBNA card (which is the same company as Virgin).  I called rather than reply to the text because I was also suspicious.  The customer service guy said they send the texts because it's cheaper than employing someone to call you!  Someone very helpful in the fraud department has now stopped my card and is issuing a new one - no fuss.  I think the random text idea isn't really the best without publicising it, but I'd rather that than not know about it at all.

Don't ignore these texts - call your card company!

£30 prepaymeny for O2 was taken from my mbna card yesterday, Mbna rang me up . I then received a text from 83838 re this trans . Bank are now investigating

I just had this very thing happen today.
I haven't used the card in a while and paid my Vodafone bill with it.
It is an MBNA card with A&L.
My other half got a text asking to confirm yes/no if she recognised the transaction.

Her name and number isn't on any of my bills !!
How the hell have they got hold of her number ?
What if I'd have bought something for her as a surprise ?

Who the hell has my partners mobile number and why are they texting her ??

just got the same message, been on the phone to virgin for 30 mins so far....  they don't know anything about the text (at first). But now the guys just been told that it's an anti fraud thing..... nearly sorted....

I made a payment from my MBNA credit card and received a text from this number asking me to confirm the transaction. I called MBNA customer services and was told the text was genuine and that I should expect more from them "from time to time". If in doubt, always call the card company first.