It seems that criminals are always looking for new ways of stealing from their unsuspecting victims. This report in USA Today is worth reading.

To protect your business and your customers from this type of crime requires you to have a store policy and procedure that you and your staff follow. Here are some things you need to consider:

Your card merchant service providers will never make a cold call visit to your store to update your equipment. Neither will service providers like PayPoint or Payzone.

If you get a cold call visit from an service provider representative/engineer ask them for their ID and phone the company with the number that you have in you records, not a number provided by the visitor.

Your service provider will not make cold call phone contact to ask you to ‘test’ your equipment. If you get this type of call tell the caller that you will phone back on the number you have in your records, not one provided by the ‘representative’.

Never allow a new PIN Pad to be installed unless it is pre-arranged with service provider and you’ve confirmed the visitor’s ID.

Ensure that you train your employees about what to do if they are confronted with a criminal attempt attack your business. Prepare a letter for them to sign when you have completed the training to re-enforce your policy about what they should do.

Ensure that you have all your service providers contact details recorded effective.