A florist in Idaho is the latest business to fall prey to a new credit card scam that has the Better Business Bureau warning, “Watch out.”
In this particular case, a customer called and placed an order for hundreds of single roses to be sent to an orphanage in Ghana. The customer asked for the roses to be charged to a credit card, and requested to make additional charges to cover the costs of third party shipping. They then requested that the florist wire the extra money to a shipper chosen by the customer.
Luckily, the florist caught on before any money was wired. The credit card turned out to be stolen, and there was no such shipper. Unfortunately, the scam wasn’t detected until the order for the roses had been filled. Now the florist hopes to donate the flowers to a local charity.
If you’re a merchant who frequently deals with unknown parties, there are steps you can take to make your credit cards transactions as safe as possible. First, get all of customer’s information and verify it yourself. Get a valid name, phone number, and address for everyone who pays with credit. Remember that banks might validate a transaction even if the credit card is stolen. Sometimes stolen cards aren’t reported right away. Finally, never accept payment for more than the price of the actual goods or services being sold - especially if the customer wants you to wire the extra money to a third party.
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