NTDA members issue credit card scam alert

At least three NTDA members have come across a credit card scam and are warning others in the tyre industry about it.

In one instance of potential fraudulent credit card activity an NTDA member based in Preston received a phone call from a “Mr Khan” claiming to be based in Manchester. The caller stated that he wanted to purchase 30 tyres on his credit card and that he couldn’t collect in person and would be sending a courier to collect them. The member declined and said that he would only agree to the purchase if “Mr Khan” came in person and paid for the tyres using chip and pin with his card.

This incident is very similar to cloned credit card fraud incidents common in the tyre retail sector since around 2010. In such cases the ‘customer’ always tries to order more tyres than would be required for personal use, or order high value tyres. The ‘customer’ then either cancels fitting and sends a courier to collect or is not able to collect in person and states that they will send a taxi/courier. Often more than one card number is given if initial card numbers are declined. In previous incidents, where the thieves have been successful in purchasing tyres, a couple of weeks after the event the retailer received a letter from the credit card handling company saying the genuine card holder had denied making the purchase and that the money is being taken back.

A second NTDA reported being approached, twice by email by a person trying to order large quantities of tyres for collection (mainly tyres which would normally be export sizes).

A third centre report that people also claiming to be from Manchester tried to order earthmover and other unusual tyre sizes in quantities of 10 saying they will send a van. Trying to collect 10 earthmover tyres in a van suggests the callers had no idea what they were ordering and is therefore suspicious to say the least!

Tyres & Accessories has reported on a number of similar cases in recent years, further details of which can be found here: http://www.tyrepress.com/tag/credit-card-fraud/