Scam warning: 800-824-9289 is pretending to be Amex Fraud Department
This morning, I received a phone call from someone who claimed to be from the Amex Fraud Department. They said they were calling to confirm an unusual transaction.
They told me that in May, a new card had been applied for in Shanghai, China, under my name, and that someone had made a purchase of over $4,000. I confirmed that it was not me. I asked what ID had been used to apply for the card, but they said they did not know. However, they correctly stated my current address. At that moment, I thought the call might be real because they did not have any noticeable “typical scam” accent. They also asked about my past experiences with fraud and seemed to be taking notes. I could hear typing in the background, which made everything feel even more real until they transferred me to another “fraud department agent” and told me an unbelievable story.
Then they told me the purchase was for an illegal firearm and that Homeland Security was involved. They almost fooled me until I asked, “Since this seems like a serious issue involving a firearm, and they may know my SSN in order to apply for a new card, do I need to call 911?”
They immediately tried to stop me. Then they changed their story and said they would provide a document for me to file a police report. I also told them I would record the phone call, and they confidently said yes.
While I was talking to them, I searched the phone number online. I found another post where people in the comments said it was a scam call, so I started to doubt them even more. I asked, “Is this a scam?” Their attitude became worse. They said something like, “If this were a scam, did I ask for any of your information? I’m only telling you what happened to you. If you don’t want to solve this and want to keep questioning whether this call is a scam, it’s up to you.” This sounded very rude.
I thought that if this was real and I was not sure whether it was a scam, I should call the official Amex number myself. If it was real, Amex could transfer me to the fraud department again. If it was not real, then I would be safe.
At first, they tried to stop me by talking about how much time the process had already taken, their long waiting list, and how urgent the case was. But I clearly told them that since it was an emergency, I would call 911 and the official Amex phone number myself, and then speak with them again through a call that I made. After that, they had no reason to stop me.
Thank God I made the right choice. I hung up and called Amex myself to confirm. The phone call was a scam. My Amex account is safe. There was no new card, no unusual transaction, and nothing strange happened.
Be aware of this number. It is a scam, and I am 100% sure. The scammers were extremely confident when they said they were from the official Amex Fraud Department. They even told me I could search online to verify it, which made them sound more believable. They did not have any noticeable accent and sounded very much like real Amex agents. They may have been using AI, since compared to their scam profits, the cost of AI tokens is probably nothing.
Please be careful. Banks may contact you about unusual transactions, but you should never rely on a phone number from an incoming call. Always hang up and call the official number on the back of your card or from the bank’s official website. Do not give out personal information over the phone unless you made the call yourself using a number you are certain is official.