Don’t be the target of telephone order scams
This scam continues to hit Middle Tennessee, so if you are a business retailer, watch out for this one.
A Lebanon electronic and appliance store owner thought a telephone order he received was suspicious. The out-of-state call came through a “relay” telephone operator (often used by the deaf and hearing impaired to make calls).
The setup …
The caller relayed his request via the Internet through the relay operator. The caller asked what kind of electronic stereo equipment the merchant sold and ordered several items valued at more than $400. The caller said he was in California, but wanted the order shipped that day to an overseas address. He gave two credit card numbers to pay for the order.
When in doubt, check it out …
The business owner thought it strange that the order had to be shipped right away, and overseas. He did a search in California and found the address did not exist. He called the credit card processor to see which bank issued the credit card and was told the cards had not been reported stolen yet. Still not feeling good about the transaction, he called the Better Business Bureau.
You can be a scam buster!
Thanks to this savvy business retailer, the BBB was able to confirm the scam as originating in Lagos, Nigeria, and get a scam alert out to the media. The Lebanon business owner did what the BBB advises all businesses to do when they have doubts about a credit card transaction: verify cards by phone with the issuer rather than just running numbers through the processing system.
Since the BBB’s Scam Alert, we have heard from many other businesses with the exact stories. The good news is that none shipped the merchandise. However, BBBs in Kentucky, Texas and Ohio have reported companies losing merchandise and money to this scam after the real cardholders disputed the charges to stolen credit cards.
The moral of the story …
Not all calls to businesses via relay operators are scams, but use caution and verify a credit card with the issuer before running the charge and shipping the merchandise.
Know the red flags, and educate every employee about the many ways your business can be the target of a scam artist.