Scam Alert: 'Tap to Pay' Transactions
Global payment processing and credit card companie are advising retailers worldwide to be aware of a scam involving "Tap to Pay" chip (EMV) technology. The scam can be used for any variety of products sold at the counter, so it's important for retailers to know about, prevent and report any such fraudulent transactions.
How the scam works:
- Scammers approach the card payment device to purchase merchandise, gift cards, Lottery tickets, etc. using a contactless mobile app.
- The app signals the card payment device into offline mode
- The malicious application indicates to the terminal that an authorization approval has been received when it, in fact, has not.
- The fraudster then leaves with the merchandise without having actually paid.
What you can do to protect yourself:
- Make sure you have the most up-to-date software installed for your POS and card payment devices.
- Make sure security patches are current.
- Consider disabling deferred or offline authorizations if your business doesn't require it.
- Report fraudulent purchases to your local police department and file a report.
- Contact Missouri Lottery Security at 1-866-665-6883, if the transaction involves Lottery tickets. Our Security team will place the fraudulently purchased tickets in a holding status to keep the scammers from cashing any winnings.
Retailers are encouraged to educate their staff about this scam and to question any sales transaction that throws up a red flag, such as a customer demanding the purchase is final when it hasn't come through successfully on your payment terminal.
NOTE: Lottery vending machines are NOT impacted, since deferred and offline authorizations are disabled on these machines.
