Protect Your Location from Fraudulent Attempts
As technology in the payment space evolves, so do fraudsters attempting to take advantage of merchants.
CHS Payment Solutions would like to make merchants aware of a fraudulent scam that has recently been identified. With this scam, a fraudster will make a credit card purchase that will be declined. Once declined, the fraudster will receive an approval code for an offline/post-auth sale, through means such as a text message or personal phone call. The cashier will use this approval code during an offline sale or post-auth transaction, which will result in the transaction successfully processing. The transaction will later be charged back because the authorization was fraudulent, and the transaction was not actually approved.
As a reminder, CHS Payment Solutions does not recommend running cards in offline or post-auth mode. If a card must be run in offline or post-auth mode, cashiers should never accept an authorization code from a customer. Authorization codes should be obtained only by calling the phone numbers below.
What can be done to prevent this scam?
- Train cashiers and front-line workers so they are equipped with the tools to easily identify scam attempts
- If a card declines, request another form of payment
- If the card is legitimate, it should authorize
automatically through swiping or dipping
- CHS Payment Solutions does not recommend running cards in offline or post-auth mode
When can offline or post-auth mode be used?
- If system is temporarily offline and unable to connect to the network for authorization
- If you take the card offline, you must call the card company via the authorization information below to obtain authorization
- If you utilize offline/post-auth mode, DO NOT:
- Enter a random code
- Accept an authorization code from a customer
If you have any questions about scam attempts or offline/post-auth transactions, please contact CHS Payment Solutions at 800-852-5301.
