A word of warning!
Silly season is once again upon us, and the fraudsters will be hoping to catch you out whilst you are busy thinking of other things – the cost of fuel, how to pay for the turkey, what to buy the wife/husband for Christmas! Now is a good time to take note of two classic scams which have reared their ugly heads again over the last few days.
Champagne Charlie
You take a call from a chap hosting his company Christmas do who’s in a spot. The pub/hotel/restaurant has run out of champagne! Could you go to a local off-licence he’s contacted and collect a case to go back to the party? You could really help him out by paying for the champagne and adding it to his bill that he’ll pay for by credit card – that way his expense claim shows as a taxi fare, not a separate bill for drinks, which he can justify so much easier. Only trouble is, he’s left the card at home, but he has the details with him, could you take them over the phone? No problem sir! You go to the off-licence, pay for the bubbly with your hard-earned, and set off for the hotel. As you get close by, you phone your generous company boss as previously arranged, and he tells you he’ll meet you outside, save you parking up (how thoughtful!). Off you go ready for the next fare, happy with a nice touch on the delivery job.
Your problem turns up a few weeks later in the form of a dispute from the credit card issuer. The transaction has been disputed by the cardholder, and it transpires that the card had been stolen. Because you never actually met the cardholder or saw the card, you haven’t a leg to stand on. You didn’t even go into the hotel to confirm your man had a function there! And surprise, surprise, the mobile number you had is no longer in service. Not only have you wasted time and fuel, but you’re out of pocket to the tune of a case of champagne. An expensive night.
The Urgent Computer Software
You take a call from the operations manager of a large national company outside of working hours. He’s had a call from a frantic IT manager, who needs a disc from the computer programmer to fix a fault in the system that could shut down every store across the UK. He must have that disc tonight otherwise the damage will be done. Your man wants you to pick up this disc from the programmers’ home (he’s prepared the software fix working from home) in the West End and deliver it to Oxford/Birmingham/Milton Keynes. Money is no object. It must arrive safely today. Oh, and the programmer needs to be paid – could you possibly give him his £150 fee in cash? Just add it to the credit card bill – money is no object, don’t forget! Oh, but the operations manager is at home in Hampshire…. Could you not just take his card details over the phone?
So you go up West, you pay the programmer, and take the padded envelope, setting off up the motorway. Soon after, the operations manager calls back, he’s had another call from the IT guy who’s starting to sweat – he’ll drive out to the motorway junction to meet you, saving a bit of precious time. Suits you, you can swing straight back onto the slip road and back to town for your next fare. Money for jam!
Your problem turns up once again a few weeks later in the form of a dispute from the credit card issuer. Of course, the transaction has been disputed by the cardholder, and clearly the card had been stolen. Because you never actually met the cardholder or saw the card, you have no protection. You didn’t even go as far as the company premises to confirm your IT man actually worked there! And surprise, surprise, the mobile number you had for the operations manager is no longer in service. Not only have you wasted time and fuel, but you’re out of pocket to the tune of £150.00. Another expensive night.
The real lesson here is an old one – if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is! But please remember when taking payment by credit card, the only sure-fire way of safeguarding yourself against these disputes is to accept payment with the card present and verified by PIN (or signature on a non-PIN card). If you have to accept payment by telephone – customer not present (CNP) – remember it will be up to you to provide evidence of a genuine transaction in the event of a dispute. Wherever possible, try to obtain proof of the cardholder’s address (a utility bill, driving licence or similar is good) and try to only accept a fare starting from or ending at this address. Meeting people at road junctions or vague addresses should ring the alarm bells. Always remember that an authorised transaction simply confirms that there are funds in the account available to pay the bill, not necessarily that you are dealing with the actual cardholder. You have to be able to prove that your customer is actually the cardholder in the event of a dispute from the credit card issuer.
If you would like any further help or advice with transaction disputes, or any other credit card related matter, please feel free to private message me
