More Persistent Online Fraudsters At Work In The Uk

Fraudsters are getting more bolder and seem more persistent than ever when it comes to trying to get goods through dishonest means. The old story with fraudsters is they will try to buy goods with credit cards they would procurer dishonestly and then have the goods delivered to a different address to that of the credit card. If a merchant was to ship to that address and had a charge-back from the credit card company then they would have to stomach the cost of the fraud. It was generally easy to tell the fraudster that the goods would not be shipped to another address without to much aggression. However times are changing and fraudsters are getting more bolshy in their approach.

Merchants have there own methods of dealing with fraud from fake companies such as checking a company email/website or company information on companies house etc, but a individual is almost impossible to verify if the goods are being delivered to another address to that on the card. That is why we as a organisation had to stop delivering for individuals who request other delivery addresses. If a client can pay by Bank Transfer, Google Wallet or Paypal then the merchant may be protected when delivering to a different address..

Fraudsters are now so bold that they will give you a lot of front to get their stolen goods. Recently fraudsters are reverting to old school cheque fraud where they put an order in with a supplier, say they will pay by bank transfer but actually put a fake cheque into the companies bank which by pure mistake is actually much more than the company quoted. The fraudster then asks for the extra money paid in to the bank and the goods after a week or so. If your bank is not vigilant and recognises that the cheque is fake then the fraudster will get the quoted goods and the extra funds they paid you by mistake. This fraud has been played out so many times yet recently it is coming back into to fashion which means that some banks are not picking up on it fast enough.

The other fraud coming back into fashion is the phoenix company. This is a company set-up with a short life span whose sole purpose is to extract as much credit out of companies before folding. They will be a good client for a short time before the final sting after a big order where they fold or move premises. Other company type fraud is fake purchase orders from a legitimate company. A recent fraudster made a completely fake company purchase order and sent it through on a fake e-mail address to a supplier that the fraudster knows the victim company has a account with. The intention was to pick the goods up from the supplier not have it delivered. This type of crime has a sophistication that takes organisational expertise or in depth  knowledge of how companies operate. My impression is that these guys are making a lot of money otherwise they would not be doggedly persistent with this fraud. The fraudster is free to continue their work unimpeded by the banks or the police who simply arnt interested as they do not pick up the bill the merchant does. Credit card fraud is big money without any comeback, a easy crime to get away with for the smart criminal.

With internet retailing getting harder to keep up with, it is worth bearing in mind that pitfalls await merchants that don't keep their eye on the ball. It is easy for a new internet retailer or a company hungry for new internet business to become a victim. In my experience the key is not to get to greedy for the deal that sounds to good to be true from a client that needs it NOW, NOw Now. Because it usually is!!!!!!!

I hope this helps someone before they become a victim. Thanks for reading.

A New Credit Card Fraud That Will Render Credit Cards Useless For Telephone Orders

A new and unbelievably easy type of credit card fraudster is coming to the attention of retailers who take telephone orders with credit cards. The credit card companies like VISA, AMEX, Barclaycard Etc unbelievably do not check the name on the front of a credit card when processing card information. This easy check is open to unscrupulous fraudsters and the banks simply pass the cost of the fraud over to retailers.

Here is an example on how easy it is: You purchase a television for example (or other expensive item) over the telephone from a retailer with YOUR credit card giving the correct card number, address the card is registered to and CV2 (3 numbers on back of card), BUT give a different name to that which is on the front of the credit card, you would then be able to commit the following fraud without any problems or consequence from the card issuer, bank or police.

Simply wait for the stolen television to arrive, then wait for your credit card statement to come through and then dispute the transaction with your credit card company saying you did not order anything from that retailer. The credit card company will check the transaction and see a different name to that which is on the front of the credit card face and instantly think it is fraudulent. They then issue a chargeback to the retailer. The merchant will always pick up the tab for your free television. If you had 5 or 6 credit cards from different banks you would be able to commit this fraud once on each card and easily get away with it.

This is a ideal fraud for someone who is only going to be moving to different addresses during there fraudulent work life because the banks have no system in place to track or combat it and they simply can not keep tabs on the different addresses the fraudster has moved on to. There is no way of stopping this growing fraud other than the banks putting a better system in place, i.e checking the name on the front of a card when processing would be a start! ! !

Even big credit card companies like Visa seem to have no procedures for this type of fraud. They even market themselves as ultra safe, But for who, the fraudsters??? Here is what Visa says: "Visa provides the Verified by Visa service to add an additional layer of security to your transactions. Verified by Visa protects your card against unauthorised use. Look out for the Verified by Visa logo on your favourite websites". I would like to add to their statement " But the basics like checking the card name we will not implement and we have no procedures in place for checking persistent fraudsters"

So Remember Kids, here is how the banks let you get away with it:

1) choose an expensive item to purchase from a retailer who excepts cards over the phone

2) purchase the item with your own credit card(s)

3) give all the correct information including credit card number, CV2, your address etc

4) give a false name when purchasing to that which is on your credit card

5) wait for your new stolen item to arrive at your house

6) wait for your credit card statement

7) ring up your bank and say you did not order anything from the retailer

8) The bank will instantly give you your money back because the name is inconsistant with your cards stated name.

9) Enjoy your stolen (bank endorsed) item with complete confidence there will be no come back

10) move to a different address and do the same process over again.