Each company explains how the frauds occurred.
CARLYLE – Quietly and without fanfare, at least four Carlyle businesses fell victim to a credit card scam last January.
King’s Department Store, Kal Tire, Ramada Hotel and Carlyle Rental Center were confirmed to be the companies defrauded.
King’s department store owner Ken King provided some details about his own experience. “At the beginning of January, a non-local customer came into our business and decided to buy clothes. He provided us with his credit card number and expiration date but did not have the actual card in his possession.
“Close to $1,800 worth of clothing was purchased and the credit card machine approved the purchase. Over a month later, the purchase was ruled fraud and our bank account was debited for the full amount. Because the purchase was made with a fraudulent credit card and no PIN, our store was jammed and we suffered a total loss. »
Kal Tire owner Gavin Thomas has been defrauded twice by two related parties.
“At the beginning of January, a non-local customer phoned to buy tires. The credit card information was entered into our Visa terminal over the phone and was approved by the system. The same thing happened a few days later for the purchase of tires and rims for another vehicle but for a larger amount,” he said.
“Both transactions were found to be fraudulent a few days later and our bank account received a chargeback for the full amounts. We had commercial insurance coverage, but we still suffered a substantial loss. During my 30 years of activity, this has never happened to me.
Marc Poirier is the front desk supervisor at the Ramada Hotel.
“In January, we had someone check in to a room at the Carlyle Ramada. He provided his credit card information over the phone and a pre-authorization was set up and approved. For various reasons he had to extend his stay and because we had his card details we weren’t worried at all.
“He left without checking properly and the entire Visa transaction was declined. The room was also left messy.
Carlyle Rental Center owners Kelly and Susan Rekken had a similar story.
“In early January, a credit card was used to rent a van. The transaction was completed over the phone with authorization obtained. A few weeks later, the transaction was canceled. We appealed the credit card company’s decision, but were again denied and had no recourse. In our case the van was not returned and was eventually found in Weyburn.
To the knowledge of these traders, the culprits have not yet been apprehended. However, that’s not the reason they brought this rather embarrassing case to light. Online, email and credit card fraud have increased exponentially over the past few months.
Every day, another financial institution makes headlines defending itself for failing to provide full and proper restitution to its defrauded customers. Recently, financial institutions have been posting job offers for positions that weren’t even heard of two years ago.
Two recent positions include new job titles of Fraud Officer and Transaction Review Specialist – Fraud Operations.
All the companies identified in this article are aware of their mistakes and have already made changes to internal and external procedures. Scams and rip-offs are becoming more prevalent and the know-your-customer rule is more important than ever.
Everyone should be extremely careful when providing information, whether it’s passwords, PINs or account numbers. Wire transfer fraud seems to be a major problem lately.
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