Scammers of all sorts have upped their game and are getting smarter. And the turf sector is not immune!
Fraudsters (or scammers) steal credit card numbers and expiration dates and then use this information to buy products over the phone or online, such as turf.
In short, credit card fraud happens when a lost, or stolen, card details are used to make unauthorized purchases.
A recent case saw a scammer purchase turf using a stolen credit card number. They also supplied an address that didn’t exist. The scammer later cancelled the order asking for the refund to be placed into another account!
A similar case occurred later that week to the same grower, but this time the scammed victim, who’s credit card details had been stolen, noticed a strange transaction and rang the grower to query the sale.
In the eyes of scammers, credit cards are the holy grail. The National Australia Bank is reporting more than 1000 credit card number scam claims a week – so much so that the bank’s fraud department is taking up to four weeks to return a finding to the scammed victim.
How to identify credit card fraud?
The most common result of credit card fraud is a chargeback. For instance, a turf purchase is made and later the customer (a scammer) wants to either cancel or reduce the order. They then ask for the refund to go into their bank account and not onto the credit card they originally used.
Unfortunately, when the victim discovers the fraud and contacts their bank, the bank may hold you liable for the fraud, especially if it was an online or over the phone purchase. This could see you having to pay back the stolen funds and also be charged an additional fee.
- Train staff on fraud detection as credit card fraud can seriously impact your business’s bottom line.
- Search Google Maps to verify that a turf order’s delivery address is legitimate.
- Be suspicious of very large turf orders.
- Be suspicious of rushed turf orders that need same day or next day delivery.
- Any refund requests need to be processed to the same card as the original transaction and never exceed the original transaction amount or be placed into a different account.
- Request the name of the cardholder’s bank. Fraudsters who have compromised account details will not have this information. If the purchaser hesitates in advising the name of their bank, caution should be exercised.
- Don’t continue to attempt authorisation after receiving a decline.
For further information