Fraud Prevention
Fraud Prevention
Avoiding Fraud in Your Store
Fraud is a serious crime that can occur at any time. An educated, well-informed sales team is essential in reducing the likelihood of identity theft and fraudulent practices. Awareness of the following behaviors can assist you in identifying possible fraudulent credit card purchases.
Contact us
By phone: 1-800-257-7799, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Central Time
By email: frauddept@wellsfargo.com
Watch for these signs that may indicate fraudulent activities
- Observe the person's actions while he or she is filling out the application. Does the applicant act nervous? Does he or she make eye contact with you?
- Be aware of intentional customer distractions like small talk while you are reviewing the application or personal identification.
- Make sure the signature on the credit application is the same as on the government-issued photo identification. Does the signature appear written over, as if a mistake was made on the first try? Is it misspelled? Are the first and last names reversed?
- Watch for other obvious errors. Do the phone number and area code coincide with the home address? Do the age, name, and address on the application match the information on the government-issued photo identification?
- Check to see if the customer is strongly focused only on in-stock items that can be taken immediately rather than considering the convenience of having them delivered.
- Be aware if the customer appears completely unconcerned about the price and quality of the merchandise or appears to be randomly ordering expensive items.
- Watch for purchases made by a group of people, all of whom are selecting merchandise but charging items to your customer's credit card.
- Make sure the customer can provide billing information correctly without looking at identification.
- Be careful if purchased items are being picked up in a rented truck. This is especially suspicious when the store offers free delivery.
- Be cautious if the customer requests that the merchandise be delivered to an address other than his or her home address.
Take care when reviewing customer identification
- Customers should present two forms of current identification, one of which must be a valid government-issued photo identification. This is especially important in stores with more fraud concerns and in industries where fraud is more prevalent.
- Check the picture identification of the person completing the credit application or making a purchase on a credit account. Be certain the picture matches the applicant.
- Recognize the physical characteristics of the various forms of customer identification (the most common being the state-issued driver's license):
- Know the official name of your state's driver's license.
- Check to see if the state seal or logo on the license matches the real license format.
- Know how long a driver's license is valid in your state.
- Check to make sure the driver's license has not been altered.
- If any part of the identification is supposed to have raised lettering, feel the identification to confirm it is raised.
- Verify that the expiration date is current. Do not accept any expired driver's license as proper identification.
- Be aware of driver's licenses issued in the surrounding states.
How Wells Fargo Retail Services helps prevent fraud
- We provide tips with each customer's credit card carrier on how to avoid identity theft and steps to take if a customer becomes a victim.
- We monitor potential high risk applications for discrepancies and indicators of potential fraud.
- Our fraud and credit teams use multiple tools to monitor transactions, payments, and insufficient account funds and to identify fraudulent behavior.
- We review and verify address changes on all newly opened accounts.