12. FALSE MERCHANT SERVICE PROVIDERS

At Eliot Management Group (EMG), the security of our merchants and their information is our top priority. In today's ever-expanding technological world, there are new ways for a merchant to be defrauded by employees, customers, and other malicious individuals. The payment card industry is not exempt from potential fraud.

Common Scams

EMG would like to provide some insight into how you, our valued merchant, can reduce your risk of being defrauded. One popular type of fraudulent activity involves individuals representing themselves as your merchant service provider. They will contact you by telephone or e-mail (rarely ever in person) and falsely claim that they are from a merchant service provider or a credit card-issuing company. Their intent will be to sell you an extended equipment warranty on your credit card terminal or request sensitive information regarding your merchant account. In both of these scenarios, they attempt to acquire one of the following pieces of information: 1) Social Security number, 2) bank account information, or 3) personal credit card information. Note that EMG does not contact merchants for matters of this nature; EMG equipment is protected by a terminal replacement program and we have no need to ask for sensitive information over the phone or e-mail.

Another common scam is when a valid merchant service provider contacts you and informs you that EMG needs to update your account information. They will send you all new paperwork or may even come by your business location to fill it out. Their intent is to get you to inadvertently switch to their processing company and will artificially inflate the discounted rates that you are receiving from EMG.

How to Protect Yourself

When someone contacts you claiming that they are from EMG, ask them to verify your Merchant ID number (located on the top of your merchant statement and beginning with 415 or 628). If they are unable to authenticate that number, do not give them any information. If you suspect any scams or fraudulent activity, EMG asks that you contact our 24-hour call center with as much information as you can provide in order to prevent this type of activity in the future. For information on how to protect your merchant account from fraudulent activity, scroll over the Information Security link above, and click on Fraud Prevention.