With credit cards now one of the most popular forms of payment, it is more important than ever to remain vigilant in protecting your business from credit card fraud. Our Card Security Guide provides you with some simple checks to help reduce the chances of accepting a fraudulent transaction and therefore receiving a chargeback.

This page provides important information on known fraud scams and trends as well as basic information about high risk transactions, some of the common scams and what to look out for. 

Current Fraud Alerts

The following fraud alerts are known. Please be wary if you are a supplier operating within these industries and refer to the online Card Security Guide for advice on how to minimise your fraud risk.  

• Tile Shipping Scam
• Wedding Scam
• Art Commission Scam
• Equestrian Product Scam
• Glass Shipping Scam
• Flower/Gift Basket Shipping Scam
• Accommodation Scam
• Model Cars
• Health Products / Supplements Scam
• Flyers Shipping Scam  
• All Card Not Present Transaction Processors 
• International Flight Scam
• Refund Scam - Travel Sector
• Counterfeit Cards Scam

Click here for more details on the current fraud alerts. 

High Risk Transactions

Card and cardholder not present orders - particularly from

• First time customers
• Email orders
• Phone orders
• Mail orders
• Internet orders
• International orders - particularly Asia and Africa and specifically Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia, Singapore
  

Chargeback

A chargeback occurs when a cardholder (or their bank) raises a dispute in connection with a credit card transaction. If the dispute is resolved in the favour of the cardholder, the transaction is ‘charged back' to you and the value is debited from your settlement account. As the merchant, you could possibly lose the value of the sale as well as incurring a chargeback fee.

Sending Money via Western Union

Fraudsters often ask for money to be sent to them via Western Union. This can be requested in a number of ways, including shipping scams, cancellations, and travel agent / travel adviser scams. Please remember, when processing a credit card refund, you must process it on the same credit card as the initial transaction was charged out. The card number, or part thereof, will appear on the Cardholder's receipt to allow reconciliation.

Shipping Scams

Shipping scams generally originate from Ghana. After a credit card transaction has been successfully approved the "customer" requests the merchant to contact their preferred shipping company via email to arrange for a quote for the goods to be picked up and delivered to the "customer".

The shipping company provides a quote and the "customer" then asks the merchant to debit the credit card and send the shipping company the money via Western Union.

As the "customer" and the shipping company are one in the same, the merchant is effectively sending cash directly to the fraudster. No one will ever arrive to collect the goods.

Shipping scams occur with card not present transactions. As the card is not present, the merchant is financially liable for the fraud transaction. The transaction is reversed and the merchant sustains a loss for the amount of money that was sent.

Known shipping companies used in these scams include:

• goexpressltd@yahoo.com
• westcoast_shippingcompany@yahoo.com
• wc.shippingcompany@yahoo.com
• expressline_freight@yahoo.com
• international_shipin@cooltoad.com
• asconshippingcompany@gmail.com
• sunsetshippinginc@cooltoad.com
• cargoshippingcoltd@cooltoad.com
• astekcargoshipping1@gmail.com
• jumboshippingcoltd@gmail.com

Cancellation Scams

Cancellation fraud occurs when a "customer" makes a booking or purchase and then cancels. The "customer" gives a reason, such as a family emergency, and asks for the money to be refunded via Western Union.

Cancellation scams occur with card not present transactions. As the card is not present, the merchant is financially liable for the fraud transaction. The transaction is reversed and the merchant sustains a loss for the amount of money that was sent via Western Union.

To avoid being caught out by this type of fraud, merchants are advised to only refund money on to the card the transaction was processed from. If the amount to refund is above the refund limit, merchants are advised to contact EFTPOS New Zealand on 0800 338 767, option 3 who can arrange for the transaction to be reversed.

Travel Agent / Travel Adviser Scams

Travel Agent / Travel Adviser fraud occurs within the hospitality and Tourism industry when an overseas "travel agent" asks the merchant to overcharge a credit card and send their commission to them via Western Union.

As the card is not present, the merchant is financially liable for the fraudulent transaction. It is reversed and the merchant sustains a loss for the amount of money that was sent via Western Union.