Old-School Credit Card Scams Are Far From Dead
But as we all suffer through a seemingly unending barrage of potential scams, these antiquated attacks are still costing victims around the world dearly.The fake-new-credit-card-in-your-mailbox trick is particularly insidious. Portugal, France, and Germany have all had waves of physical credit card scams in recent years where criminals have mailed phony replacement cards or letters to potential victims. Included letters often claim a current card is set to expire soon, whether the victim actually has one that's about to expire or not.
- ▪But as we all suffer through a seemingly unending barrage of potential scams, these antiquated attacks are still costing victims around the world dearly.The fake-new-credit-card-in-your-mailbox trick is particularly insidious.
- ▪Portugal, France, and Germany have all had waves of physical credit card scams in recent years where criminals have mailed phony replacement cards or letters to potential victims.
- ▪Included letters often claim a current card is set to expire soon, whether the victim actually has one that's about to expire or not.
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| Original publisher | WIRED |
| Canonical URL | https://www.wired.com/story/kernel-panic-old-timey-credit-card-scams/ |
| Publication time | Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-26T12:06:00.028Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-26T12:06:00.028Z |
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Lily Hay NewmanMatt BurgessSecuritySep 26, 2026 8:00 AMOld-School Credit Card Scams Are Far From DeadIn an era of increasingly sophisticated AI-fueled scams, a retro threat may be lurking in your mailbox.Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyWelcome to Kernel Panic! A weekly newsletter by Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess from inside the new world of privacy and digital security. To receive this newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up here.When every random text message feels like it’s a scam, and with AI supercharging digital fraud, old-time credit card skimmers and bogus letters that arrive in the mail may seem laughable as potential threats in 2026.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at WIRED.
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