Business' response to credit card fraud

[Icarus]

@kayaker

Well, I called them yesterday and mentioned that I’d like to pursue my cash from the woman. The person I spoke with was insistent that I wait until they complete their investigation so that she doesn’t know she is being investigated.

WTF? Is she gonna flee the area? She is a single mom with a ~4 year old who used her house-mate’s card without permission. I’m going to wait one more day, then call her and demand she pay me as soon as the charge-back is complete.

As far as whether the company likes it, how does it affect me? I’m out the money whether I follow their wishes or not.

It it entirely possible they will recover your money from her account. So, if you go after the lady before they’re done, and she pays you too, it could get whack-a-doo all over.

[Dr.Girlfriend]

@Icarus

I used to process chargebacks at the credit card bank. Contrary to some customers imaginings, it’s not Marge with a ledger book who can look it up and tell you right away what’s up. “Oh, yes, here it is! Judy’s Cupcakes - $17.95. Up on Maple Street. On last Tuesday was it? Sure, sure, I’ll take care of that right away!”

It’s 1000 clerks with a stack 1000 high every day. They’ll get to it, really they will. Unfortunately, the dollar amount is really irrelevant to the speed of processing, it’s just a data point like date or address or account number.

Oh yeah… I’ve had those customers too. “Don’t they know I cancelled that?!” I entered a chargeback on July 20th that they just started looking at today, and that’s about normal.

I hate chargebacks with a passion. :mad:

[kayaker]

I called the cc processing people and told them I was going to contact the customer and warn her that I would expect payment when the charge-back occurred. The rep at the processing company gave me the name/number of someone at the bank that issued the card and asked that I let her know of my plan.

So, the woman at the bank (CHASE) requested I be patient or I might damage the investigation. I explained that I had no interest in how the investigation proceeded, I just wanted to maximize chances of recovering my money. She then gave me some details of the case, including the fact that I probably would not be out any cash.

She explained that my customer (the crook) shares her home with an adult who has severe mental problems. The credit card has been used for years to purchase what this woman needs. There is some sorta conservator who noticed that spending had gone up recently, specifically for things that were unlikely to be legitimate purchases (I was among those purchases).

So, they are going through past purchases, doing an audit, and there will wind up being an arrest. Because merchants have actually been told to accept the card from the crook, it looks like I will not be out any money, although there haven’t been any guarantees.

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Thanks for the update, I’m hoping for the best for you! That’s a bizarrely sad situation you described.

[AmbushBug]

@SayTwo

What good does it do to match the signature to the one on the card?

Because larceny with a credit card is pretty much a petty crime, which is what the crook gets away with if the merchant doesn’t check the signature. I think (IANAL) a crook signing a name that’s not his, to represent himself as that person, is felony forgery.

Cardholders don’t have to show ID. If the ID check was all a merchant did and the crooks could get away with never actually trying to sign the slips in someone else’s name, the fake id rap is also fairly petty in comparison.

So, IMHO, one of the best reasons the slip signature check has been the best method, is that it’s really the thing which provides for the crooks to get hit with the criminal charge that has biggest potential.