How often have you made a credit card purchase where the cashier didn’t even look at your credit card? Probably more times than you can count. Credit card fraudsters count on cashiers not paying much attention to the cards they process, allowing thieves to present altered cards or cards without signatures for payment.

By training your staff to recognize the warning signs of fraud, and taking simple precautions before approving a questionable transaction, you can help protect your business from unnecessary fraud losses.

The most important piece of advice is to know your business. Know your typical transaction type, typical purchase amount, and typical customer. When someone tries to make a purchase that falls outside your typical business model – for example, you run a retail store and your typical sale is $30-$50, and a new customer tries to place a $3000 order over the phone – it should raise red flags that there may be fraud.

Warning Signs of Fraudulent Card-Present Transactions:

Unusual transaction type – any order that falls outside your typical business model may be fraudulent, especially when combined with other warning signs.

An attempt to purchase something with a high resale value – thieves are likely to resell items purchased with stolen credit cards.

A nervous customer – is the customer unusually talkative, fidgety, or sweating?

A rushed transaction – a customer who arrives at closing may be counting on your cashiers to be distracted.

Repeated purchases – a customer who leaves the store and comes back quickly to make another expensive purchase may have just tested a stolen credit card and found that it was still valid.

Steps You Can Take

Know the credit card security features well and train your employees to look for evidence of tampering

Ask for a customer ID and check for signs that the ID has been altered

Examine the signature on the card for signs of smearing or tampering

Compare signatures between the card and ID

Check to see that the terminal and receipt match the last four digits on the card

Call for a Code 10 authorization

Next: Fighting Fraud When the Card's Not Present: Online, On the Phone, and Through the Mail