Beware New Scam - shipping to UPS stores, credit card by phone

Well its happened I got my first bit of fraud on the webstore..

This is how it went down.

Customer Places an order Using a valid united state address with a valid matching resident.

Customer uses Husbands name and enters the shipping address in the same town. For this particular order the shipping address just happened to be on a united states military base.

Customer makes several attempts to pay with credit card online. But the processing software does not allow it for unknown reasons. ( this actually happens alot you know customers that transpose every number on there card or cant figure out what a cvv number is). So the customer simply selects check / money order and is able to confirm the order then.

Once the order is confirmed the customer emails customer support and complains of credit card processing errors. Promises that there card is good and asks if they can give the credit card over the email.

I take a look at the order and figure well its going to a united states military base. That has to be legitimate right? I tell the customer as long as I get an address match on the card we will ship the order.

So the credit card was approved and we got a partial address match to the Customers billing address that was entered. The order shipped the following day.

Fast forward 2 weeks later.. Credit card charge back comes through. We file all necessary paperwork and still lose the case. 238 dollars down the drain.

So I start digging in and researching. I check the shipping name up and down and the address. It just so happens the shipping address on the military base houses a number of businesses. Including a UPS Store. Apparently some ups stores will accept packages for international customers. Then re route them to Nigeria without any knowledge of the originally shipper. The product is long gone with the help of the ups store.

Fast forward to today. Another customer has the same issue with the credit cards. I ask all the same questions but this time after getting no address match on the credit card I googled the ship too address. What do you know its another UPS store in another state. Another Nigerian trying to cash in on some free product.

How do I know they are from nigeria? well one of them logged in with there nigerian dial up account..

dial-pool5.lg.starcomms.net

I cannot take away the check / money order from my account as well sell to governments and businesses that have to pay that route. But I do know I will no longer accept credit cards in that manner. The reason my gateway was bouncing there valid credit cards was because the address they where entering for billing address did not match there actual IP address. So it declined it over and over again. but if you do not have that safeguard in place if you punch in the number yourself into your virtual terminal.

Please watch carefully out there they are getting more creative every day.

Why don't you "pretend" to take their order, then go out catch a rattlesnake, put the snake in the box with a lot of tissue paper, and send it off to the UPS address.

Snake burrows down in the tissue paper.

Scam artist opens box and forages around in the paper to see what's buried underneath...

:clap::clap::clap:

Sorry to hear that. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

The reason they try it again is they assume you fell for it once so you probably fall for it again. Usually when you get scammed once, the second time won't be far away.

You are kinda lucky you got the chargeback 2 weeks later. I have had Fraud that was not filled for 2 months later after I have fell for the same guy more than once.

I have raised my standards and haven't not had a chargeback in 4 months (Knock on wood).

Your merchant probably told you "It is the cost of doing business online".

Robert, how did you lose the dispute? If the cards official listed address was the USBASE one then you shipped to the right address? i.e it was verified?

I dont get it, can you clarify?

and coolcarparts, can you elaborate. How did the person win the chargeback? I assumed you shipped to a verified address? what standards did you raise?

So the credit card was approved and we got a partial address match to the Customers billing address that was entered.So the address was almost right but not exactly the cardholder's actual address...

remember these UPS stores ( alot of them anyway ) used to be mailbox etc's so the PO Boxes they carry there are listed as street addresses

that would account for the partial address

wildchick:

Robert, how did you lose the dispute? If the cards official listed address was the USBASE one then you shipped to the right address? i.e it was verified?

I dont get it, can you clarify?

and coolcarparts, can you elaborate. How did the person win the chargeback? I assumed you shipped to a verified address? what standards did you raise?

PayPal is the only company that shows if the address is verified or not.

If your question is: Does the billing and shipping address match, then the answer is NO. In our business sometimes you need to have an item shipped to a different address such as a Shop where your car is being fixed, or to your parents house if you are a student who plan on fixing their car when they come home for a Holiday or such, Or a business that has the CC in the owner name but need it shipped to a different address.

Anyway, I have been more Alert with transactions and configured my Authorize/net account to filter out all possible issues.

CoolCarPartsOnline:

PayPal is the only company that shows if the address is verified or not.

If your question is: Does the billing and shipping address match, then the answer is NO. In our business sometimes you need to have an item shipped to a different address such as a Shop where your car is being fixed, or to your parents house if you are a student who plan on fixing their car when they come home for a Holiday or such, Or a business that has the CC in the owner name but need it shipped to a different address.

Anyway, I have been more Alert with transactions and configured my Authorize/net account to filter out all possible issues.

Oh I understand now. You know I am new to CC merchant accounts. I was talking to a sales rep and he told me if anyone wants you to ship to another address(not billing), tell them to call their cc company and add the new address, it takes 2 minutes. He said basically that way you win the dispute if they say it was never sent.

Just thought I would pass on the info, whether it is correct or not.

What I do on a mismatch address is I have the customer contact the bank and have them request for an "alternate shipping" address added to their card. If the bank does not do these alternate shipping address I also tell them to have the bank add it into their notes.

Once that his done the customer would call back and I will then contact the issuing bank and have them verify this address. I also would request for the bank to fax me proof of this verification.

The main reason I ask for this fax is because of chargebacks. A chargeback normally requires proof of this authorized address and the bank fax is the only proof around.

Other than that you can request for the customer to send a wire transfer. Or you can just tell them that you only can ship to the authorized address on the card.

Thanks for the info! I will pass this on to my clients with online stores!