Alert: phone order fraud

Con artists posing as deaf people are using a relay phone service for the deaf to place orders with retailers, using unauthorized credit card numbers for merchandise that can be resold. In recent months several MRA members have reported the scam, which has been bilking retailers around the country for two years.

“We have been getting calls since around May 15,” said Susan Stroup, MRA customer service manager. “The retailers affected sell anything from t–shirts and sportswear to electronics. It seems these scammers don’t care what merchandise they get as long as they get it for free.”

Often the caller will place a high-volume order to be shipped to Nigeria, but other foreign destinations are possible.

The publicly funded telephone relay service—which helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing use telephones—now uses the Internet along with the old TTY machines. A user types a message at a website, then a relay operator places the requested call and relays the messages between the caller and the recipient—in this case, a retailer.

The method has distinct advantages for overseas thieves: it disguises a foreign accent and it plays upon the sympathy a retailer may have for a legitimate user of the service.

To avoid falling victim to phone order fraud, MRA advises that you carefully consider all phone orders and watch for the following red flags:
• Does the customer order multiples of an item or items without asking any information about them?
• Does the customer want the merchandise to be delivered to a foreign address, especially a suspicious one like Lagos City, Nigeria?
• Does the customer try multiple credit cards for billing?
• Is the customer unwilling to provide a U.S. telephone number and U.S. contact information for the order?

On a phone order paid with a credit card, the retailer holds 100-percent liability for that charge—the retailer could lose both merchandise and payment.

If you ever have a sales transaction where you suspect fraud, call 800.991.9911, then wait for an operator and ask for extension 83255.

If the customer is not present, call MRA customer service department between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at 800.563.5981. By calling to report the fraud or potential fraud after the fact, you may help identify a card number as suspect, as well as learn more about avoiding fraud.

Since not all callers using the phone relay service are attempting fraud, MRA advises that you take the call, then make an evaluation about the order based on all factors.