Brian Kinsella
Senior Regional Fraud Manager, Elavon Europe
When shops get busy, fraudsters strike. Protect your business from payment fraud. These top tips will help stop you from falling foul of the fraudsters, as well as helping you to safeguard your transactions to keep your data secure.
A good payments provider will help keep your payments secure, using the latest technology to encrypt data — protecting your customers’ sensitive information and your reputation. However, there’s still the human factor. Clever con artists will prey on your emotions and fears, so being wise to their tricks will keep you a step ahead.
Payment fraud that distracts staff
Fraudsters take advantage of busy shops and try to distract you when a purchase is being made. While the card is being entered into a machine, the scammer cancels the original sale before it is fully processed and instead issues themself a refund. Be wary of attempts to distract your staff and double-check the final receipt once it has been printed.
If you spot a fraudulent refund has been processed, contact customer services who will show you how to void that transaction. Any business with a card machine can fall victim to this, but you’re more likely to be a target when busy.
Playing on your emotions
In card-not-present fraud, stolen card details are used to pay over the phone. Often, the caller will appeal to your softer side, for example, claiming to be buying in bulk for children or making a charitable donation. After the items have been supplied, the genuine cardholder files a chargeback request. By this point, the criminal is long gone — leaving you out of pocket.
Fraudsters take advantage of busy
shops and try to distract you
when a purchase is being made.
What to look out for
- New customers looking to purchase large orders over the phone
- Customers looking for goods to be delivered ASAP — they might even organise a courier themselves
- Buyers who are unconcerned about price, availability or the specific details of the products ordered
- They offer up multiple cards when a transaction is declined
Steps to prevent you from becoming a victim
- Think through the order. Does it make sense they are ordering this volume of a product?
- Ask the customer to call in person and pay by chip and PIN.
- Avoid card-not-present transactions where possible; use Pay By Link instead.
Importantly, always remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
