Retailers have been warned to look out after two Fed members narrowly avoided being stung by card-holder-not-present scammers last week.
The scam involves the ‘shopper’ attempting to purchase a high-value basket – normally spirits and tobacco. They use the card terminal to begin a card-holder-not-present transaction and manually enter a stolen 16-digit card number on the keypad.
When the card holder’s bank discovers the fraudulent transaction, a chargeback leaves the retailer out of pocket. Joey Duhra, of Jules Convenience in Telford, Shropshire, told RN: “A local retailer said a gang had tried it in their store, but they’d spotted what was happening and ordered them to leave.
“Just as I was on the phone to my team in the shop to warn them, the same gang was there, attempting the same thing.”
Duhra’s team was able to halt the transaction. Unlike in previous instances, where fraudsters purchased hundreds of pounds of stock, last week’s attempts were around £40, making it harder to spot.
Duhra said: “Sometimes, with big transactions, a retailer’s eyes light up, but you have to treat them with suspicion.”
Tips for preventing these scams include asking your card merchant to disable card-holder-not-present functions; attaching wireless terminals to the counter; being wary of distraction attempts by other shoppers; being wary of customers looking at paper or phones while using the terminal; being suspicious of high-value purchases; and sharing these tips with all staff.
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