Identity theft is right up there with kidnapping. They have no right to it, and they really don’t need it. What they truly need is to figure out how to be a part of civilized society and have a job that makes them happy. But as it goes, they want more attention than the rest of us and do put themselves in dubious positions, causing the rest of us, angst.
This in turn brings in the authorities to sort out what has happened. Such is the case of a merchant account, which is processing credit cards that have been stolen, and opened accounts that are in the names of businesses that are unaware of their new account.
Who is responsible?
The thieves have gone a step further. Not only did they take the credit card numbers, but they also took the identity and address of an employee or owner and took that information to the web. This is where they invade a merchant services company and open an account with this information. From there, they start processing cards at amounts that flow under the radar.
Who gets to pay for this? The merchant servicer or the bank? How about the card? It’s a good question and not an easy answer for sure. Even though the cards are insured, they will squawk about the charges. Then the poor processor may be out thousands of dollars on something that they never saw coming.
The solution
It will slow down the speed of processing accounts, but to prevent fraud and thievery, the merchant account service providers will need to get more information and verifiable information. Past related fraud cases sight the thieves using a similar address but changed just enough that the mail can and will get lost. Keeping the company they have targeted in the dark.
A system that will irritate the honest public but will need to be in place to shut down the bad guy, and keep merchant accounts working on the honest side of the business. The credit card companies already have fraud programs in place and pretty much are covered, but the merchant account servicers are targets every second of every day, to this brand of fraud.
Just awful
It’s just plain awful to know that this kind of thing is going on. The internet and our traffic make things so much quicker and have alleviated the cart and horse for our deliveries. Those that live in rural areas keep up with their friends all over the world. Communication among families is one hundredfold and we can keep up with things that were put on the shelf and forgotten.
Now, this brand of money thievery has surfaced and it is just plain nasty. It puts the businesses at risk and the credit card companies, as well as folks that are minding their own business. So the lesson here is, to watch your credit cards, keep an eye on your accounts and check your credit history often. It’s just about the simplest system to keep them at bay.