There has been a huge increase in fraudulent purchases online in the past 3 weeks. My site got hit with $13,000 in orders from fake credit cards, and then they have continued to hit me ever since, every day. One in particular came with a reference from another vendor, talked to them on the phone, CC runs through fine, everything checks out. Another was an existing REPEAT customer of mine who has made legitimate purchases as large at $4000. They tried to get me for over $9000 on a stolen credit card.

Shipping addresses range anywhere from Singapore to Cali to Missouri...anywhere.

Here is what you can do.
-Take the CC number, and ask for the 1-800 number on the back of the card. Call that number and have VISA or MC verify the purchase with the buyer before you ship.
-Ask for a copy of the card AND their ID.
-For overseas orders, make them wire the money. Period.
-Tell them to suck your dick.

What to look out for:
-Orders for multiple quantities of the same product.
-Email subject titles with vague descriptions like "order" "inquiry" "price" etc...
-An over the top attempt at perfect English grammar.

I know of friends on here that have shops that have been hit by the same crap in the last couple weeks...even with shipping addresses in their own area!!

TONS of it. Beware!

 

how do they get fake numbers to run threw? Isnt that the whole point of a card number?

Crazy what theives do.

 

i talked with luke today i just had the same issue. watch out everybody the money now will cost you more later!

 

same here. but i do not use same accts. to seperate the cc from other orders. then all orders cc take 3-5 days to ship. no acceptions. this way i have time to verify everything.

the cc game has changed. you have to be really on your toes about them. also paypal is a great way to do cc transactions. have them pay cc through paypal. if not there phony.

 

i believe pay pal would be safest way, even tho its kinda expensive for big orders but its safer than this fake crap >.< man theifs these days!

 

If it starts with 'Dear Sir / Madam' and has Singapore in it, just click delete. If it asks how you ship and what CC you accept, probably do the same. **** happens sometimes even when you take all the right precautions, but generally if it doesn't feel right, it's probably not. Be smart about things.

 

cant u just wait to ship till $$$ hits your bank.

 

Doesn't matter if it's a CC chargeback, they'll take it right back out of your account. Wire transfers, once it's in, it's in. CC or paypal, money in the bank doesn't mean you're safe.

 

I hate credit card machines, paypal I have had alot of luck with google checkout. I really only take paypal from customers I know since I have a lot of repeat business.

 

I hate discover, they're the only company I know of that doesn't ask questions till later, but will wire the customer the money back from your bank account, then ask for the merchents story, I know Mastercard and Visa, and American express are different.

As to the original poster, did everything match up ? Address, last 3 digits on back, just wondering as if those don't match up for an online order, we just cancel the order, not worth taking the risk.

 

Credit card algorithms have been out for years.

A former co-worker of mine just got hit for $5,000 worth of ngk plugs. This one has been out for ever but apparently it still works so they are still doing it. Credit card went through like it was legit like previously stated.

 

Paypal transactions can be frauded too.

 

Address didn't match, but the card went right through with no issue. I have the security settings so that it wont accept it if the address or name is wrong, and it has always worked. I just happened to get lucky and decided to call VISA to have them verify. I just wanted to warn everyone because I know several places that have gotten hit...mostly for pistons.

With the economy being like it is all over the world, it is only going to get worse. There is no merchant protection, only 100% buyer protection.

 

 

Good looking out OP

We started holding the online credit card orders a few days as well as a precaution on new customers. This came after an order came thru, everything checked out thru the site and paypal. What caught my eye was the area code for the ph. didnt match the state it was shipping to (no where close)...which is possible. We get a call a few days later from the real card holder telling me it was fraudulant and he supplied every bit of info you could ask for. I called his CC company, they too verified it. Luckily I was able to stop the delivery while in transit and have it rerouted back to me.

We've had several of the "dear sir", or "we'd like to purchase 20 of this one part" to ship to some country in who knows where or whatever emails. I'm sure others have been getting them as well.

 

ive worked for a business that got hit with these type of scams. it is a very big blow to some small companies. Wire transfer is the safest way to get money, but you have to look at it from the customers point of view they have no simple way of getting the money back if you scam them. with all these fabrication and fly by night companies i wouldn't send a wire transfer to a company unless i completely trust them. what i find odd about some of these purchases is that most credit cards wont let you charge $2500+ without calling them first but yet these CC keep getting scammed.

 

I hear ya, and yes if an address doesn't match we call the customer and ask for more information to make sure everything is legit. Sometimes its better to just refund the money back, instead of taking such a hit, its just not worth it.

Yep, and paypal usually is hit or miss on who they side with, and when they side with that person, there is no way of making them reverse the decision, even if you have all the evidence in the world.

 

That's just wrong, these people need to get caught. When things like this happen it ruins our sport/hobby/lifestyle. The more they steal rather than work hard for what they invest into cars then the more they are killing this sport for the rest of us. I really hope this all gets resolved and you somehow get your money back.

 

I work at a bank and if I were you I know of the increase of fraud going on. I wouldn't ship any parts until the payment was verified in your account. It has gotten so bad that relatives with similar names as the person with funds, will try to write checks/debits for all sorts of ****.

 

It really doesn't matter though, the purchaser has 90 days I think to dispute any type of charge, and like I said, discover rips the money out instantly with out hearing both sides, MasterCard and Visa at least treat it like a trial and here both parties stories and make a decision.

 

A $9000 purchase?

Paypal is one of the safest ways