Fraud Alert On DJ Service – Beware of Credit Card Merchant Scam

CO-CEO/Publisher On The Rise Media

I can laugh about it now. Little chuckles escape me when I think of how bad it could have all been and how the devil is indeed a liar. And how my grandma didn’t raise a fool. I wonder just how gullible people think I am at times when I can stare blankly at them in some way, form, or fashion and “see right through them”. But then again, some say I’m paranoid and I’ll take that (but not often). Me, being a victim of past identity theft that has taken me all of like five or six years and apparently still going on was about to be a victim once again; but with eyes opened. It begins

“Hello this is Becky Lane how are you doing today? I will like to book a DJ service for my daughter Wedding please let me know if you are available for the DJ Service and uplighting Do you accept credit card as payment?”

Literally the email consisted of two punctuation marks, but had four sentences. I’m immediately annoyed from this because now I’m stuck and obsessing about the errors in punctuation and run on sentences. I remember that now. IMMEDIATELY ANNOYED. But, I did the only thing I could do. I woo-sah’ed and meditated. I responded back advising that we did in fact provide DJ services, and we did accept credit cards and went on into my normal quote based on service, in which she replied with more details and after everything was said and done and when there was a new quote given, we agreed.

I look at everything. I notice it like a hawk and so immediately I told my husband that something didn’t seem right. Meanwhile, we were already booking DJs so I brushed it off as something that was just a figment of my imagination.

She then asked me which merchant I used for my credit card transactions. She informed me she couldn’t take paypal, so immediately i’m thinking she’s in negative in her banking. I want to speak to her but then she tells me she is deaf. So I began to be a little bit more tolerant and after giving her the options of western union, moneygram, depositing at my bank or having someone pick up the cash (she game me an atlanta address for the event), she still required more accommodation. We went over to square.

This conversation had gone on for well over a week with me not falling for her shenanigans. She then wanted me to accept more money to pay the event planner. At this point I wasn’t very kind, I admit. But I’m trying to be nice because, after all, this is a wedding and I just love love, right? Well, finally we get to the point where I can invoice her, and her zip code is different from the one she initially gave me and it’s not even a Georgia one. She kept saying her cards were declining and she had to cancel one so could I resend it and so on and so forth. I finally got fed up and decided to just cancel the invoices myself. She messed up royally when she emailed me the credit card number and told me to process it for her. I told her no and I would need to see her with picture ID and I can have her go in to see one of our reps or she could video chat with her ID next to her actual face speaking to me. Wouldn’t you know she lost her ID?!

Somehow I remembered that if I suspect fraud, I should contact the merchant and in his case it would be square.They took three days but they got back to me and almost play by play, they provided an example of a scam that matched my entire conversation with Becky. Here is a copy of the letter (I made the things that match my Becky experience in RED):

Hi Attica,

Thanks for writing in, and I’m sorry for the delay in getting back to you! We’ve had a large influx of Support inquiries lately, but I will be taking care of you from here.

We appreciate your diligence and we’re here to help you protect yourself.

Some scam artists use compromised credit card information in an attempt to convince you to send them money or goods. These people often place their orders via email or phone to mask their true identity.

The scam artist will sometimes try to get you to use part of the credit card payment to pay a special vendor, person, or shipping company. The special instructions often involve some sort of irreversible money transfer such as a wire, Western Union, money order, or bank transfer. Never use part of a payment to send money to a third-party vendor, person, or shipping company recommended by your customer.

Here are some possible signs of fraudulent activity:

– Buyer places an order via email or phone.
– Buyer claims to be hearing impaired or in the hospital.
– Buyer places unusually large orders in a short period or insists on expedited shipping/service.
– Buyer requests international shipping.
– Buyer’s credit card is declined.
– Buyer requests order to be split between multiple credit cards.
– Billing and shipping ZIP codes don’t match.
– Buyer gives special instructions such as paying a third-party vendor, person, or shipping company.
– Buyer has a large order of goods that can be easily resold (e.g. a lot of blank t-shirts).

If you suspect a scam and are not comfortable taking payment from someone, stay calm and let the customer know you can’t accept the sale. Keep in mind that you are liable for any disputes on your account, including disputes related to fraud or scams.
If you have already accepted a payment that you suspect may be fraudulent please let us know immediately so we can help.

Here are some best practices for protecting yourself from fraud:

– Never wire or send money to a third-party at your customer’s request (including Western Union, MoneyGram, bank transfer, etc.).
– Never use a third-party delivery service that you are not familiar with. We suggest that you send your goods through a certifiable delivery company (e.g. UPS, Fedex, etc.).
– Ask for photos of your customer’s ID and credit card. Make sure the names match.*
– Do not split large orders into multiple small payments.
– Always ship to the same ZIP code as the credit card’s billing ZIP code.
– Research your customer and call to discuss and confirm the order.

For more information about accepting payment cards safely, visit our Support Center

I’m here to help you be sure you’re best positioned to protect your business. Please let me know if you have any other questions or need further clarification. I’m happy to help.
Chris
Square Support

Intuition is something wonderful. And foreknowledge of how things should occur and what shouldn’t occur is sometimes key in NOT having your identity stolen.