Another day in the life of Rick the crime fighting mattress guy!! I know you’re wondering what mattress design and crime fighting have in common? In todays world it seems all things are connected. At the store today we had a person call us wanting to place an order for two queen sets, he was insistent he wanted top of the line and nothing less. As I continued to question him about who was using them, size of the people, how old etc. all he wanted to know is “can it be picked up today, what’s in stock”. He was vague on who would pick them up but he was quick with the credit card info. It would have been easy to take the high dollar order but something kept knawing at the back of my mind about this whole deal. So I took all the credit card info and told him I would have to verify it. He wanted it done real quick but I put him off. I called my credit card merchant service and they said everything checked out, no problem. Still not satisfied with the answer, I took to the internet and tracked down the name I had been given in NJ. With a phone call, I talked to the REAL card holder and asked if he was in FL buying mattresses and of course he said no I am on the other end of your phone call in NJ. His card was in his pocket but somehow the culprit had gotten his info – ALL of it, address, name, and security code. If I had not taken the time and had the experience in the retail world the culprit would have gotten away with not only two expensive bed sets and most likely he would have kept shopping and buying til the card ran out .
The real kicker from a small business standpoint is the card holder would not have been out anything and the merchants would have lost the product and been charged back the amount that was approved. When someone uses a stolen card, the credit card company is not out the money, the business where it was used is. They lose everything, product and money. So if you’re in business keep your antennae up and if you have credit cards keep an eye on your statements. Til next time this is Rick the crime fighting mattress guy.