Sellers online beware!!

[pleasureridgecandles]

Hi all I just wanted to pass on some info that may help someone and save them from a huge loss of money and inventory. For those of you that have online stores please watch out for people contacting you in regards to ordering. These people are pretty easy to spot as the couple that I have dealt with type broken English (I guess is the best way to put it). And they always refer to themselves as Mr. whatever (first and last name). Anywho they are contacting people in an attempt to scam you out of your product(s). They only want to pay with a merchant account and refuse to use paypal. My husband told me they are targeting other businesses as well not just online stores. He works in parts for semi trucks and his business as well as some others that have contacted each other to watch out for this. All seems to be ok since they pay with a credit card using a merchant account and it shows to you that the card was accepted. So you send out the product then find out that the money was never sent. Meaning you are out alot of time, money and product(s). The last one that contacted me wanted around 2000.00 in candles and when I asked him for shipping info so I could give him an exact amount and told him I did NOT have a merchant account I've not heard from him since. He contacted me several times through our website seeming so interested and in a real hurry to get this deal done. I thought from the get go he was trying to scam me so I am lucky to not be out anything. From the way they talked in their typing they obviously were from another country. And really who is going to spend over 2000.00 on candles they have never used before??I hope no one has fallen victim to this and that this helps someone out there.

[lsbennis]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Kitn]

Thanks for the warning.

[deena]

Thank goodness you listened to those alarm bells ringing, and did not become one of thier victims.

There are so many bad people out there, thank goodness they are a minority though, how can they sleep at night.

[Judiee]

Not sure what you mean by "they only want to pay with a merchant account". Do you mean they only want to pay if YOU have a merchant account?

[mecandlesupply]

Yes, I have had this before...thanks for letting everyone aware of this scam.

[ChrisR]

They've been doing this scam for years.

[Faerywren]

Yeah, this is nothing new. The big red flag(s) is when you're contacted by e mail instead of through your site and the horrendous use of the English language. I believe I've heard they are usually using stolen credit card numbers? To see if they'll work? Hell, maybe I'm getting two different scams mixed up. There are so many now.

[annie123]

Then again I was taken by a little old lady from SC who spoke perfect English...so you never know where the scam will come from.

Edited August 26, 2010 by annie123

[Faerywren]

Then again I was taken by a little old lady from SC who spoke perfect English...so you never know where the scam will come from.

Ack, how awful!

[TFCbrooke]

My favorite part of these emails is "please send me a link to your website"

Um, well...if you are contacting me because you want my products so badly then YOU ALREADY HAVE A LINK TO MY WEBSITE!

[Judiee]

... All seems to be ok since they pay with a credit card using a merchant account and it shows to you that the card was accepted. So you send out the product then find out that the money was never sent. Meaning you are out alot of time, money and product(s). The last one that contacted me wanted around 2000.00 in candles and when I asked him for shipping info so I could give him an exact amount and told him I did NOT have a merchant account I've not heard from him since. ... .

I'm missing something with this "merchant account" thing. I have a merchant account and an automated gateway but also able to run charges manually - all with immediate accept or decline. All daily charges are batched and finalized at the end of the day so I don't get the part about the "money was never sent".

IMO the $2K order from a new customer is the first red flag - meaning take a serious look at the order and payment data. I would only ship a new customer order like this to an AVS (Y) confirmed billing address - otherwise I would either ask for certified funds/wire payment by mail or decline the order.

As far as the broken english emails - straight to the trash.

Edited August 26, 2010 by Judiee

[pleasureridgecandles]

I was concerned from the get go but thought I'd play along just to see how much info I could get out of them. As for the merchant account thing that is just the way they kept pushing to pay. And the part about the money not being rec'd after showing it had was part of the scam that my husband was telling me about where the scammers are hitting businesses like his. They may have been stolen credit cards, I don't know how they are doing it but somehow they have done it. It's sad that we live in a world where people wake up and think how can I scam someone today. Get a damn job!! Anyway, alot of you may have been aware of this (since someone said this has been going on for years) but I had not heard about it and this was my first experience with it so I thought I'd pass it on in case there were others who were unaware.

[Judiee]

My biz experience dealing with credit cards, paypal, gco, wires, checks, etc goes back to 1995 and includes several online and one brick/mortar store. I've never heard of someone wanting to make a payment with a merchant account.

Correct me if I'm wrong but a merchant account is for receiving, not sending payments. I must be missing something in the translation.

[B@BlissStreet]

Yeah, this is nothing new. The big red flag(s) is when you're contacted by e mail instead of through your site and the horrendous use of the English language. I believe I've heard they are usually using stolen credit card numbers? To see if they'll work? Hell, maybe I'm getting two different scams mixed up. There are so many now.

This is a big warning sign. I have been an Avon rep for about 14 years, and when I started my online store, had tons of emails from parties interested in buying quantities of 400 of products. One went so far as to send me a bogus "certified check" for over 4K. I laughed when I saw it and "googled" the bank drawn on. Nevertheless, I did turn the check and the Fed Ex envelope and copies of the email correspondence at my local law enforcement; their attitude was that I was lucky I recognized a scam, and let it be. I tried to stress to them how someone who may be developmentally challenged or elderly could be easily vulnerable, and not have a chuckle at the commission they "could have had":rolleyes2. I truly wish the police had taken my complaint seriously. When I went to my bank and asked to talk to someone regarding my account security, they were playing a whole different ball game than the cops. They immediately copied all material and said they would take security measures to protect my account in the event of an odd transaction. I think this thread has opened an excellent topic, especially for new chandlers/soapers who have not sold commercially, and especially in the world of e-commerce. It would be great to find a sticky that holds all the sage advice the members here have on being a victim. Thanks so much to everyone who shared here:)

[Judiee]

Whether one uses paypal, gco, propay, etc - or has a real merchant account there are payment processing tools available to minimize the risk of being a victim. It's best to cancel or refuse a sale when the red flags appear and the payment information is shaky. IMO an order for 2000, 400 or even 20 of a product would immediately raise a red flag and cause very careful scrutiny of the order. One tool to help confirm customer information on a questionable order is to lookup their phone number here - http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/phonelocation.asp and check that it is a valid number and in proximity to the address for the order.

Edited August 26, 2010 by Judiee

[TBDQuilling]

What's really interesting is when they have no clue as to what you're selling.