July 2016 Tip of the Month

It has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. As a merchant you think someone just committed credit card fraud with your business. Hopefully you never have to go through that, but with credit card fraud rampant here in the U.S. chances are you will. At the same time it is good for you and your employees to know what to do as it could save your business some time and money.
Each credit card company has its own set of guidelines about what to do if you suspect a fraudulent card but many of the guidelines are the same. First is to get possession of the card. Remember though your employees (or your) safety is first and foremost. If you don’t believe you can hold onto the card safely, don’t. All of the card companies also recommend then calling your authorization center and with a calm voice mention you have a Code 10 request. They will ask a series of yes or no questions and if necessary call the police for you.
There are other things you can do:

• Check ID, especially on major purchases.
• Compare the signature on the back of the card with the their signature when they sign the receipt or the screen with the new EMV cards.
• Be wary of anyone buying large quantities of products or gift cards.
• Also be wary of anyone making a large purchase and asking no questions about the product.
• If the card winds up being declined be polite about it.

You are not the police, it’s not your job to arrest someone but a vigilant merchant is the first line of defense against credit card fraud. It is understandable that a cashier will want to move check-out lines along as quickly as possible or that you will want to make every sale you can but credit card fraud is rampant in this country almost to the point of it being an epidemic. How many times have the most wanted (or common) criminals been caught because they had a busted taillight? All it could take to stop some credit card thieves is a vigilant merchant.