Managing director of Quooker UK Stephen Johnson offers his advice on how to guard against credit card fraud

We have all witnessed the growing increase in over the telephone credit card fraud. We ourselves have been targeted and I am aware from other appliances companies that they have been as well.

During the last couple of weeks, we have seen an increase in the fraudsters targeting kitchen and appliance showrooms.

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We must all work to together to prevent this activity so we thought it would be useful to give you some tips to help you safeguard your company against this potential threat.

In typical cases, an order is placed, payment is processed, and the goods are shipped out to the buyer. But it is only after this occurs that the business is notified that the credit card used was stolen. This can take up to 12 weeks in some cases.

The individual who had their credit card stolen is not liable for the bill, so this can leave the business suffering the loss.

What can you do to help reduce the risk of falling victim to such a costly crime? Here are some ways you can help protect yourself from credit card fraud.

Collect all the information

Businesses that take credit card orders over the phone can be especially prone to being victims of credit card fraud.

Before processing the order, request phone numbers for both addresses and proof of ID and address.

In order to help prevent this, you may want to request all the credit card information, including the card’s 16 account digits, the three-digit card verification number, the card’s expiration date, and the complete name, address, and phone number associated with the account holder.

Since the easiest to obtain (and the most commonly stolen) information includes the credit card number and its expiration date, asking for all this information could help stop thieves who do not possess the physical card.

Before processing the order, request phone numbers for both addresses and proof of ID and address. In today’s day and age most, people carry a driving licence so you can always ask them to WhatsApp you a picture of this.

If they don’t provide this do not proceed with the order. Another good tactic is to advise the caller you need to check you have stock and request a landline number, not mobile to call them back.

If it is fraud, they will not provide this.

Red flag large orders with no discount

A large order and a consumer not asking for a discount is a red flag that someone is using a stolen credit card.

Likewise, when large orders are placed with next-day delivery, the risk can be even higher.

Credit card thieves usually want to complete the transaction and get their items as fast as possible, before the card’s owner finds out his or her card has been stolen.

Be wary of differing “Bill To” and “Ship To” addresses

A credit card’s “bill to” address is usually the card holder’s physical address. If an order comes through with a “ship to” address that doesn’t match the card’s billing address, then this could be a sign of a potential credit card fraud attempt.

Before processing the order, request phone numbers for both addresses and proof of ID and address as mentioned earlier.

If you have any questions or in any doubt about the legitimacy of the caller, why not ask for a bank transfer instead? That way you cannot be at any risk.

If you choose not to do this then it is critical you obtain proof of ID and address.

Come to collect

Finally, if a consumer requests to come and collect from your premises and pays by card again always ask for proof of ID and address.

If you obtain a physical proof of ID and address you will avoid the fraud!

Read more on how to protect your business against money laundering.