I'm a s/w developer and noticed some unusual sales coming from europe for some s/w that people from there would not normally buy.
This had been going on for a few months before I started looking at the email addresses. They were more than likely throw-away hotmail addresses (random character prefixes) used to purchase the s/w. I suspect this person/persons are using the purchase of the inexpensive s/w to test the credit card information so that they can be sold as verified and used to make larger purchases. I reached out to the company that takes care of my online purchases to get their take, but I haven't heard back as of yet. I googled what I suspected was happening and found this: 7 Sophisticated Shopify Scams That Will Blow Your Mind that says
"There is card testing scam, and chargeback scum and both involve loose of money which is actually Not healthy for business and can quickly destroy the customer-retailer relationship.
With a chargeback, the credit card provider demands back payment for a retailer for goods which were fraudulently bought, disputed or a fraudulent transaction happened.
Shopify scammers are very intelligent, on the card testing scam, it usually occurs when determined scammers have many stolen cards and numbers and are typically tried on trial and error until the correct combination is achieved and then the card used to make purchases over the Shopify platform."
Just something new to be aware of especially if you use PayPal, since PayPal will charge the business owner $20 on top of the lost sale when someone files a chargeback. I would have gone out of business had I stayed with them!
This had been going on for a few months before I started looking at the email addresses. They were more than likely throw-away hotmail addresses (random character prefixes) used to purchase the s/w. I suspect this person/persons are using the purchase of the inexpensive s/w to test the credit card information so that they can be sold as verified and used to make larger purchases. I reached out to the company that takes care of my online purchases to get their take, but I haven't heard back as of yet. I googled what I suspected was happening and found this: 7 Sophisticated Shopify Scams That Will Blow Your Mind that says
"There is card testing scam, and chargeback scum and both involve loose of money which is actually Not healthy for business and can quickly destroy the customer-retailer relationship.
With a chargeback, the credit card provider demands back payment for a retailer for goods which were fraudulently bought, disputed or a fraudulent transaction happened.
Shopify scammers are very intelligent, on the card testing scam, it usually occurs when determined scammers have many stolen cards and numbers and are typically tried on trial and error until the correct combination is achieved and then the card used to make purchases over the Shopify platform."
Just something new to be aware of especially if you use PayPal, since PayPal will charge the business owner $20 on top of the lost sale when someone files a chargeback. I would have gone out of business had I stayed with them!
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
