888-800-5234

I got a cal from a Unknown number. It turned out to be a phone number from American Express. I was told to contact them to 888-800-5334, which I found is the AMEX fraud department.

They left a message asking me to call the AMEX Fraud Department back. They said this was not a sales call.

I called the called real AMEX on 9/17/2008 11:54 AM at 1-800-668-2639, they told me the 888-800-5234 number is not one of theirs.

888 800 5234 belongs to amex, it is the fraud dept

I just called American Express (the number from their main website) and they said the 888-800-5234 number IS indeed their fraud / security check phone number (she just transferred me to it).
So I don't know why you were told it was not real.  But of course it's always smart to check before calling, and of course NEVER give out information - they should already HAVE the information and you can just verify it.

DON'T CALL 888-800-5234! DEFINITELY A SCAM!

I got a call from an unknown number, and a suspicious woman asking for me by name left a message asking me to call the AmEx Fraud Department back at 888-800-5234.

She could have easily found my name and number from the phone book.

If the AmEx Fraud Department wanted me to call back, they would have told me to call the number on the back of my credit card and ask to be transferred to the AmEx Fraud Department. 888-800-5234 is probably a transfer number to the Nigerian Express Bank!

I just received the same call. I called the number back, instead of calling the number on the back of my card. When I realized what I did, I called the number on the back of my AMEX card, and was told that 888-800-5234 was one of their numbers, and NOT a fraud.

Since the opinions differ here, the best thing to do is to call AMEX yourself, by the number on the back of the card. Only then will you be sure.

888 800 5234 is a number to the American Express Identity protection team, they are not fraud ... for privacy reasons, they are no longer allowed to leave a message stating to call the number on your card (incase it is the wrong #) ... Anyone recieving a call from any company should always advise the caller that you will call them back at a number you know is theres; but for the record 888 800 5234 is not fraud

IT IS A SCAM!! Do not beleive any of the reports above that say it isn't! the number 1-888-800-5234 DOES NOT Belong to any department involving American Express. IT DOES NOT BELONG to the American Express Identity protection team. That does not even exist. These people will call you and try to say who they are. Then if you do not answer the phone to these numbers as I do not. Well then they will send you a letter in the mail. IT looks VERY real! I even called this number! They wanted the card number..but we do not have an American Express card...then they wanted a Social Security number. IT is a scam!! I hung up and then looked up American Express on line and called the number I found. They revealed to me that everything was fine, but those people are scammers!! Don't fall for it!

Same number- called the number on the back of the card, they were verifying identity and everything is good.

@Joe3863: Didja ever think that's exactly what the department is there for?  Someone opened a card in your name.  That was your chance to tell them you didn't apply for one, and then go put an alert on your credit.  I called the Amex phone number that is listed on the back of my card and on the Contacts page for the official website, where they gave me this number.  Seems pretty legitimate to me.

888 800 5234 is not a scam, i work at american express and it is indeed our Identity Protection Team phone #, if you are so sure that it is a scam, why not call the verified American Express # on the back of your card, and ask them for the toll free number for their Identitiy Protection Team...?.  They will then give you 888 800 5234.  You can then come back and ammend YOUR fraudulent post.. don't post something unless you know it's fact.

I got a  charge rejected on my card and called the number on the back of the Amex card to find out why.  Amex gave me this number to call, so I did not receive a call from them but made one.  Once I did they explained that my card had been blocked because I had changed my contact information a week ago and they were unable to reach me by phone.  Indeed I had changed the info, so to have information on when I changed my address on the Amex website they would have to be pretty amazingly informed if they were fraudsters.  So my vote is that it's legit.

1-888-800-5234 is not a scam.  I called the number on the back of my Amex and confirmed this.

I just talked to Amex fraud by calling this number and they called my back to verify my identity.  Not sure if it was real or not so Ill soon find out.

I think it is legit, but it is annoying.

If you call the # on your card (not the 800-5234) AmEx will know that 800-5234 called you. They want you to get on a conference call with your bank to confirm your identity.

They have not told me what they want to ask the bank. I asked and was told "some questions" repeatedly. Unfortunately, AmEx's rep had difficulties operating his phone and could not conference in the bank. I was told to call AmEx back; perhaps they'd then be able to conference in the bank. Perhaps the inability to operate a conference call adds to the cocerns that 800-5234 is a scam.

There are apparently other ways to verify, but the rep did not want to discuss those and hinted that if I didn't get on a call with him and my bank, AmEx might not be able to verify me. Perhaps this adds to the concerns that 800-5234 is a scam.

I imagine this is some kind of advanced security set up, but it is annoying. I've spent more than 10 minutes on this and have not satisfied AmEx's demands.

I feel like I've been flagged as some kind of wrong-doer. The rep was vague and evasive; again I understand why some believe that this is a scam, especially if they just call the 800-5234 number. Nice way to start a relationship with a customer.

I just called the 800-5234 number, then called the number on the back of my card just to make sure. They verified it's a legit number, they had a record of my conversation at the number in question. So yes, it's a legit number.

I got a message from this number, found these posts and called the number on the back of the card first.

This is a legitimate Amex service. They caught an unusual charge to my daughter's account and stopped the crooks initiated it.

Same situation as above.  I called the mail AMEX number and they did verify that the identify fraud department did reach out to me and the number was legit.

When I called the 5234 number an automated voice requested my account number right off. I declined and called AMEX from the number on my card.

I was told that the 5234 number is ligit and they were just contacting me to confirm that I did receive a new card that they had just sent me and to confirm my phone contact info.

THIS IS LEGIT.AMEX Fraud Department, they called for my co-worker.  He called back and learned that someone had stolen his account number and ran up $600 in unauthorized charges.