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K N O W Your Independent Processor
With the financial struggle our nation's economy has been facing, it is critically imperative now more than ever to really know who your independent credit card processor is. I've heard too many stories about businesses being solicited and exposed to scare tactics that question their security regulations. Acts like this are often committed by scamming operations in order to scare business owners into signing up for "exceptional savings" on their credit card merchant fees that they don't really need. Yes, I fully believe that reducing costs in a downturn economy is essential, as well as prudent; however, it should never jeopardize the process of your revenue stream.
The example I want to share with you is one we've seen on too many occasions. A business will receive a phone call from a scamming operation posing as their credit card merchant provider. The caller will claim that, due to new security changes regarding PCI, the business will need to download and upgrade their terminal software. The scammer then gives the business instructions for do this in order make them "PCI Compliant." The caller then assures them that this will be a quick and simple process that won't cost them anything because it's included in their service. Once the business owner or employee follows the given instructions, the deception and scam are sadly complete.
Little did the owner know that what they did was absolutely devastating to their business. They just reprogrammed their credit card machine to have all funds received from their business transactions sent to the scammer's bank account rather than their own. This means that all the hard-earned money this business makes will be funneled into the pockets of these criminals, and vanish before their eyes. And to make matters worse, this sabotage can't usually be caught until the following month when billing statements are issued.
Make sure you know your credit card processor by name and that you have a specific person to contact before giving out any access to your equipment to ensure your own security. Unfortunately, this is only one of many examples of fraud, so please be cautious and careful as these and many other tactics are being used against businesses every day.
For more information on PCI compliancy, see our page on it here.
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