With the current COVID-19 restrictions, the farm machinery trade is allowed to operate as an essential service to facilitate the supply of parts, service/repairs and installation/delivery of machines.

The advice of the FTMTA is to, where possible, take payment by card over the phone, but precautions must be taken.

The Association has once again highlighted to its members issues around fraudulent payment transactions and suggested a number of steps that could be taken to reduce exposure to such criminal activity.

Cases

In late 2019 and early 2020, there were a number of cases of farm machinery dealers (both FTMTA members and non-members) falling victim to payment scams in relation to sales of machinery.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that these sales were generally based on responses to online ads, with the “buyers” not previously known to the dealers and often giving an address in southern counties adjacent to the border.

Payment was made by credit card with the details taken over the phone and delivery arranged via a courier.

In some cases, when the courier contacted the buyer to arrange the delivery they were told to deliver to a different address or in one case a courier was told to meet the “buyer” in a layby.

In other cases, the “buyer” sent in their own courier to collect the goods at the dealer’s premises.

According to the FTMTA, the problem arises within two or three weeks of the transaction when the payment services provider notifies the dealer that the payment has been refused by the card holder as a fraudulent transaction and the full amount is to be charged back to the dealer.

Delivery

The Association added that in general, the dealer is unable to provide a proof of delivery, either because their courier never got one if the goods were delivered or the dealer never got one from the customer’s courier in a collection scenario, so they cannot even prove that the goods were delivered to the “buyer”.

The Association accepts that it is probably impossible to fully insulate yourself from all the various scams that exist but some steps can and should be taken to minimize exposure.

The FTMTA encourages members to be vigilant around such transactions. For the full list of advice offered by the FTMTA, check out the full article on our website at farmersjournal/machinery.

Advice from the FTMTA to machinery dealerships

For all CNP (Card Not Present) sales, the following details must be obtained:

  • The card number obviously.
  • Cardholder’s name, as it appears on the card.
  • Card expiry date.
  • The cardholder’s billing address.
  • Delivery address (if different to billing address).
  • Contact phone number (preferably a landline number as mobile phone numbers are not always traceable).
  • The name of the card issuing bank.
  • Ask the customer for their card security code (CSC), the three digits on the signature panel (The CSC will be verified online against the card, by the card issuer).
  • Minimise the risk of CNP fraud by considering these points:

    If you become suspicious of a customer, take your time checking them out. If you are not fully comfortable with them, don’t proceed with the sale.

    It is important to undertake checks to authenticate the details provided by the customer. Verify the address by getting a copy of a utility bill or driving licence.

    Be wary of orders coming from free web-based email addresses as many of these cannot be easily traced back to the sender.

    Is the payment card in the customer’s name? If the answer is no, do not proceed with the transaction.

    Check if the delivery address has been used previously at your business but with different card details, contact names and/or phone number.

    Check if the payment card number has been used previously at your business, to purchase goods for an address different to that being provided in the current sale.

    Call your acquiring processor (your payment services provider) and ask them to check the name and address of the cardholder with the card issuer. The issuer will not give you a customer’s details but they should be in a position to confirm contact details for a customer.

    If you become a victim of card fraud, contact the gardaí immediately. It is a crime after all. Unfortunately the success rate of such investigations does not appear to be great.

    Other checks/steps to help you reduce the risk of fraud:

    Contacting the customer to confirm the order (using a number you know to be correct for the genuine cardholder).

    Using a caller display service to ascertain which telephone number a customer is calling from.

    Being wary if the contact phone number is a mobile phone number; a landline number should be requested where possible.

    Be aware when the customer has trouble remembering their address or details.

    Use a courier of your own to make delivery.

    Make sure that the courier only delivers to the address that you have been given.

    The courier should get a signed proof of delivery.