Businesses owner doorsteps chargeback scammers
Updated: 13 hours ago
It's a simple card scam: A purchase, a parcel sent, the customer phones the bank and says they haven’t made the purchase. It is that simple. The customer received a full refund and the seller is charged the refund amount plus an additional fee for processing. These are called chargebacks.
It is one of the most common scams hitting UK businesses according to Worldpay.
Rusty Nart spoke to the BBC and took matters into his own hands after he saw an increase in these scams in two separate businesses. Green Monkey London, and Fingers Kebab Shop. Rusty added 'customers have 3 months where they can chargeback a payment to a business'. The chargeback fee on top of the refund fee is £28.00 plus VAT per transaction.
In protest against the scammers, Mr Nart started his own in depth record keeping to protect his business. With all the receipts to hand for a 3 month period, Mr Nart could assign all orders and purchases to an address and a name. Once a chargeback had been filed with the bank, Rusty drove to scammers houses and asked them why they had done this. Each time he received a full refund from fraudulent customers using this tactic. He did add that this could be dangerous for others to use this technique.
Worldpay one of the leading card suppliers noted credit card fraud costs UK businesses £551.3 million in 2023 with one of the most popular frauds chargeback fraud.
This article has been created for information purposes only and is not considered financial advice.
Worldpay provide actionable steps below to help you protect your business.
Use fraud detection tools:
Chargeback management software
· Tools like Dispute Management software offer specialised help for you to track, manage and reduce chargebacks.
Document everything
Ensure that you maintain detailed records of:
Transaction details
Customer communications
Evidence of fraud (e.g. IP logs, shipping discrepancies), and
Any other record that may be relevant.
Report the fraud to your local authorities
· In the UK, you should report fraud to Report Fraud or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These organisations can assist with investigations and recovery.
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