Just what we all needed!…..The BFA have just been informed of a new scam happening in shops around the UK. A couple of people will come into the shop and order a design of a decent size. Once the server hands the card machine over for the pin number the other customer will distract them with a question about balloons or other gift items. The first person will then change the amount and add a zero on, so a sale of £50 becomes £500. This is then noticed and pointed out once the transaction has gone through, The server assumes they added a zero by mistake and apologises (we’ve all done it). The server then offers a refund but the scammers switch the card for another one. The original £50 is then put through and the scammers switch back to the original card for the sale. The first card is stolen and ends up with a £500 and a £50 sale on it whilst the scammers card gets a £500 refund amount put onto it.
PLEASE ALERT YOUR STAFF TO BE VIGILANT FOR THIS AND DON’T BE DISTRACTED DURING TRANSACTIONS.
Don’t we all just hate it when we are fraudulently done out of our money and in-fact anyone’s money, so please read what happened to one of BFA Members and don’t let it happen to you.
”Hi, I wanted to bring your attention to a fraud that happened in my shop last week. Since posting on one of the florist groups on Facebook I have found that there have been other florists who have suffered exactly the same problem and I thought it might be something you wanted to warn other florists about. I also checked on my Elavon account and in the information section it highlighted a rise in this type of fraud, but I hadn’t heard of it before.
Two lads came into my shop late on a Friday afternoon. They ordered a bouquet of flowers for their mum at a cost of £85. They were paying by card. I handed the machine to the one paying. While he was doing that, the other one asked me about balloons, distracted me, I was on my own in the shop. I turned round to look at the balloons, he was asking me questions etc. When I turned back the receipts had come out of the machine and the price on there was £850. So obviously I assumed I had put the extra nought on by mistake. He went into panic mode, what’s my dad going to say, he will think I have paid £850 for flowers, my student money is in there blah blah blah. So I say, and this is one place where I went wrong, I can do you a refund. it’s no problem. I do the refund, then do the original transaction of £85. They walk out of the shop discussing what has happened.
I was a bit suspicious and I checked the receipts. They were for different cards, I had charged what I presume was a stolen card with £850 and £85 and then refunded the thieves with another £850. By this time it was 4.45pm. I spoke to Elavon and by the time I had actually got through to someone, my terminal had printed out the end of day banking receipt and I was told it was too late to stop the transactions, they would have to be reported to the fraud department. This again is something that would have helped me had I not had automatic end of day which was set up by the installers.
I don’t think I will get this money back, retailers are the ones that lose out unfortunately, so in time, I may lose £1700. An expensive day!! I just wanted to highlight this fraud in case it happens to anyone else and anyone else can send them packing. It has been reported to Action Fraud, the police don’t seem interested”
