Retailers Warned that Some Online Orders May Be Scams

A recent email received from a small business owner:

"I received an order for parts from our online website. The order was quite large so I decided to check it out further. I'm glad I did because the credit card number provided was stolen."

It's important to scrutinize orders when at all possible. Here's another look at what happened to a Canadian business owner who followed her gut and took the time to investigate if the order and payment information she received was valid...

Online orders may be scams, retailers warned

Rose Kriedemann came in to her toy shop one Wednesday morning and found a nice, fat order from her website.

It came from a customer in New Zealand, an order totalling about $1,000 for four specialty collectible items that Bayshore Hobbies is known for.

Kriedemann was happy with the early morning sale, but something, some instinct borne of 27 years in retail, told her to double check.

The Visa number was approved by Paymentech, meaning the number was valid. But she hesitated when it came to ringing it through.

Kriedemann tried to determine if the credit card number was correct. She wanted the sale, but not the loss. A thousand dollars is a thousand dollars.

She started to Google.

RCMP Corporal Louis Robertson of the Canadian anti-fraud centre PhoneBusters, applauded Kriedemann for following her gut.

In the end, it's the only real protection most business owners might have.

"If you hear bells and whistles going off, step back, Google it ... take your time."

Once Kriedemann started to Google the address, it turned out to be in Indonesia, not New Zealand. Her hunch was paying off.

Then she had a number of credit card fraud warnings show up in her Googles of the address and the name given by the customer.