Should you Void or Return?

Often a retailer will have to perform a return and refund a customer's credit or debit card. This brings up the question as to which way is best to return the funds to the cardholder. Should you void or refund the transaction?

The general rule is that if the transaction has not been settled (batch closed) you want to void the transaction since voiding stops the transaction from fully processing.   There are limitations to how you can void a transaction.  Once the transaction is settled, it can not be voided.  

  

Transactions are stored in your credit card terminal or computer software until settled.  If a transaction is still in the unsettled batch, it may be voided. 

If your batch has closed out your only option is to refund the card holder.   If you return funds to a credit card, it MUST be to the exact same card the original sale was made one.

Even though a sale was voided, the authorized and unsettled funds may be held for 5-7 business days by the card issuing bank.  To speed up the release of the authorization and release the hold, you can call the phone number on the back of the credit card and explain that you are the merchant and want to release the authorization.  You may need to provide the authorization code as well.

Be kind to your Credit Card hardware

     

 

Typically summer is the season for thunderstorms and wild power spikes, but they can happen any time of year.  We depend on the electronic devices that help us run our businesses.  Credit Card terminals and computers are susceptible to damage from power spikes, power failures and brown outs.  If your power drops during the middle of processing a credit card transaction, it could corrupt your entire batch as well as charge the cardholder erroneously.   This could lead to losing transactions stored in your terminal as well as expensive equipment replacement.

Preventing damage is simple and inexpensive.  Many inexpensive power strips and surge suppressors have basic surge protection built in; these are typically clearly labeled as such. However, power strips that do not provide surge protection are sometimes erroneously referred to as "surge protectors."  These inexpensive devices may offer some protection against lightning strikes, but give many people a false sense of security that their electronics are protected.

If you paid less than $25 for your surge suppressor, it probably isn't offering you much in protection.  Even better is a device called an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).  Large data centers depend on these to keep clean power to their servers.  In fact, here at Frontline we have many large UPS's protecting our servers.   These devices not only protect against spikes, but will keep your equipment running in a brown out or black out.  

Therefore, we strongly recommend merchants purchase a UPS or a quality surge suppressor for their computers and credit card terminals.  These cost as little as $60 and keep power to your equipment when the power goes out.  You will sleep better knowing your investment in hardware is protected.  Often the manufactures such as APC will guarantee replacement of your equipment if their UPS fails to protect it from damage from faulty power.

As a bonus, you can also plug your phone line and network cables into these devices for additional protection.

Free Advertising!

That's right, Frontline Processing is offering our merchants free advertising space in our next email marketing campaign being sent out to 50,000 businesses.    

We want to be a bigger part of your success and would like to offer your company free advertising space.  This is totally free, no gimmicks, no catches, just a way thank you for your business.  

Well, the only catch is your ad must contain a discount, special or promotion that is redeemable to recipients of the email.  Where else can you reach up to 50,000 businesses totally free?  The holiday shopping season is right around the corner and if you would like to drive customers to your door, contact us and we'll put your ad in our email blast.  What a great way to increase sales in a competitive economy.  Frontline Processing, your credit card processor is here to help.  

If you wish to participate, email Chain@FrontlineProcessing.com or call us at 406-585-7443 with the details of your promotion.  We will then contact you with specifics about the target email and dates so your ad can be placed accordingly.

Someone found out my password and now I have to rename my dog.

Do you use your pet's name for passwords? According to a survey by credit card firm Visa Europe, well over three quarters of surfers choose passwords relating to friends, family and memorable dates. Only one in five of the survey's respondents (22 per cent) said they use a mixture of random letters and characters, with the rest opting for more sentimental log-ins including birthdays, nicknames and the names of favorite pets. Worryingly, the word 'password' itself still accounts for two per cent of the nation's most common password choice. Another three per cent use their cash machine Pin. A third of respondents admitted they use the same password for all their log-ins, with a further quarter using the same password nearly all or most of the time. Only 42 per cent have between two to four passwords and just 12 per cent manage to remember between five and seven, the research found. "Of course it is important that our passwords are personal and meaningful to us, but also that they are difficult to decipher and not easily guessed."  As your credit card processor, we feel compelled to reiterate the importance of security.  Although complicated passwords are a nusance, they really are essential to safe custody of sensitive information. Here is a link to a free strong password generator.  Strong passwords are a key to reducing hacker threats and are a must on financial accounts.   A common reason people don't use strong passwords is that they are hard to remember.  There are a number of password managers such as RoboForm available that will save your passwords so you only need to remember one. Protecting your customer's account information as well as your own is an investment well worth the effort.  A data breach could be extremely costly.

Merchant Chain Link

Save with the Frontline Merchant Chain Link

     

We are proud to offer another benefit of using Frontline as your credit card processor, the Frontline Merchant Chain Link, a new weekly newsletter sent to thousands of merchants, advertising business to business discounts.

We believe working together is a great way to get through tough economic times. As one of thousands of vetted Frontline Processing merchants, we know that you are a stable and reliable business that we can recommend to others.
Would you like to save money on office supplies, Chiropractic sessions, salon treatments, carpet cleaning, equipment rentals and other merchandise and services? Would you like to boost customer traffic to your business?  Maybe you have a surplus of a product you would like to move out.  

  

Here's how it works...

Participating merchants offer discounts for their products and services that Frontline will advertise to fellow Frontline merchants on Frontline's website and our new Chain Link newsletter.  These offers will help drive customers to your business and increase sales.   Your fellow merchants benefit from the discounts and you will enjoy additional revenue from additional sales.

We will publish your Chain Link deals and specials weekly and on our website page.  You have free advertising space to offer your discounts to other merchants and their families.  It could be a one time offer or a ongoing discount to all Chain Link merchants.  Why not give it a try and see the benefits of business to business network marketing discounts.

To learn more or join our Frontline Merchant Chain Link program, email us at Chain@FrontlineProcessing.com.   Let's all work together for success.

Scams are everywhere

         

Here's one that was recently brought to our attention.

A customer was making a large purchase and told the merchant that because it was a debit card, his bank gave him a pre-auth code for the merchant to use to Force the transaction through.  Well, since a force assumes the code is valid it never actually contacts the issuing bank for approval and prints out normal looking receipt.  The customer signs the receipt and walks off with and expensive piece of merchandise.  

Here's the rub; the card was stolen.  Because it was forced, it settled and later the actual card holder contested the charge on their bill.

Lesson here: Never ever accept a manual auth code for a force transaction from a customer.  If you have doubts, contact Frontline Processing and we'll check it out for you. 

  

Smishing 

  

By now we should know not to respond to an email requesting personal data or credit card information.  Paypal and eBay do not loose your account information and don't need you to re-enter it.  However, scammers make web sites look very authentic and capture personal data from unsuspecting victims.  This is known as phishing. 

 

Enter the Smishing scam.  

Similar to phishing, smishing uses cell phone text messages to deliver the "bait" to get you to divulge your personal information. The "hook" (the method used to actually "capture" your information) in the text message may be a web site URL, however it has become more common to see a phone number that connects to automated voice response system.

The smishing message usually contains something that wants your "immediate attention", some examples include "We're confirming you've signed up for our dating service. You will be charged $2/day unless you cancel your order on this URL: www.?????.com."; "(Name of popular online bank) is confirming that you have purchase a $1500 computer from (name of popular computer company). Visit www.?????.com if you did not make this online purchase"; and "(Name of a financial institution): Your account has been suspended. Call ###### immediately to reactivate". The "hook" will be a legitimate looking web site that asks you to "confirm" (enter) your personal financial information, such as your credit/debit card number, CVV code (on the back of your credit card), your ATM card PIN, SSN, email address, and other personal information. If the "hook" is a phone number, it normally directs to a legitimate sounding automated voice response system, similar to the voice response systems used by many financial institutions, which will ask for the same personal information.

This is an example of a (complete) smishing message in current circulation: "Notice - this is an automated message from (a local credit union), your ATM card has been suspended. To reactivate call urgent at 866-###-####."

In many cases, the smishing message will show that it came from "5000" instead of displaying an actual phone number. This usually indicates the SMS message was sent via email to the cell phone, and not sent from another cell phone.

This information is then used to create duplicate credit/debit/ATM cards. There are documented cases where information entered on a fraudulent web site (used in a phishing, smishing, or vishing attack) was used to create a credit or debit card that was used halfway around the world, within 30 minutes

Email Virus attachments

Recently we've seen a surge in email attachment viruses. These prey on businesses that have a lot of shipments and transactions.  Often it will be a notification from UPS, Fed-EX or some other shipper.   It claims a package delivery failure and asks the recipient to open the attached waybill, which is a virus payload.  Another variant claims an ACH (electronic funds transfer) failed and offers details in an attached file.  

If you receive a suspicious email attachment, do NOT open it.  The Automated Clearing House (ACH) never emails transfer details to users.  Shippers do not include attached files with their emails.

Once infected, a common variant of this virus will display "Your computer is infected! Windows has detected spyware infection." or a similar message attempting to trick the user into believing that it is a genuine antivirus program.  A fooled user is lured into giving up their credit card number and the infection messages subside.  However, the virus remains dormant awaiting the author's command to use your computer for malicious purposes.  If you suspect your computer is infected, seek IT assistance to remove it immediately.

Mac users have enjoyed virtually virus free computing for years.  However, virus authors are starting to see them as open targets as they often don't use any form of virus protection.

As a merchant, an infected computer could potentially harvest credit card numbers from devices on your network.  The consequences of this are dire.   This is the reason the Payment Card Industry (PCI) council was formed, to assist merchants become safe custodians of cardholder data.

There is no reason to not use a virus scanner.  The are several excellent FREE versions available, including Microsoft's Security Essentials and free products from AVG and Avast.  

It is more common for businesses to offer free WiFi to their patrons.  If you use a wireless network, make sure it is secure.  Public access to WiFi should not share the same network segment as your business.  If you are unsure, we highly recommend seeking professional IT assistance to secure your business network.

Roundtine

Why do they call it Ovaltine?  The mug is round; the jar is round...they should call it Roundtine.  

Don't you miss Seinfeld?  Well, there is no substitute for genuine Ovaltine and scammers to try to trick us into accepting fakes that look authentic and rip us off.

In this issue some helpful tips to keep your business secure and no more Seinfeld references.  We're sure most of our clients are not sending money to Nigeria or forwarding emails so Bill Gates will pay them $5 for each one.  However, fraud costs businesses big time and we hope to save you from some of the newer scams out there.