Red Flags to Watch for in the Showroom

Phone orders are not the only sales that can potentially involve fraud. Many criminals come right into the store prepared to perpetrate fraud.

What red flags should I look for to help me identify fraudulent purchases?

Red flags to look for include:

HOW THEY ACT

• First time buyer.
• Comes in close to closing time and needs it today.
• Seems nervous or rushed; doesn’t make eye contact; keeps head down; has hat or sunglasses on.
• On a cell phone the whole time.
• Buys too quickly without negotiating.
• Doesn’t ask about warranty or about the piece or doesn’t try it on if it’s for themselves.
• Has an unusual story about why they’re buying it ($20,000 for a friend’s wedding gift, for their brother’s retirement, for an uncle who’s in the hospital, etc.).
• Didn’t park in front of the store (Robin, Cheryl, or Chelsea can check the cameras).

WHERE THEY LIVE

• Lives outside of San Diego County (like LA), out of state, or has out of state ID.
• Only in town for the day and it’s urgent they buy something.
• Speaking in a foreign language.

WHAT THEY WANT TO BUY

• Unusually large or high dollar purchases; purchase of multiple high-priced items.
• Wants to buy an expensive Rolex, no particular model just whatever we have.
• Wants to see a specific size in a diamond solitaire or diamond earrings and does not care about the price.
• Wants to buy only gold chains that are easily resellable.
• Won’t leave a deposit to get exactly what they asked for, just wants whatever they can get today.

THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND IDENTIFICATION

• Reluctant to answer conversational questions about themselves, like where they work, are they married, where they grew up.
• Doesn’t want to give address or phone number.
• Address they give is not a residence, it’s a PO Box or warehouse and doesn’t match ID.
• Wants the sale rung up in someone else’s name (which we DON’T do).
• Photo on ID doesn’t match appearance of customer.
• Address on ID doesn’t match address provided by customer.
• Presents a passport instead of a driver’s license.
• E-mail address that doesn’t match the name of the cardholder or is invalid.
• Does not want to remove their ID out of their wallet.

HOW THEY WANT TO PAY

• Wants to spend exactly the amount available on their credit card or wants to put on several credit cards at the max amount available.
• ID doesn’t match name on credit card – we don’t take it!
• Customer name is different from the name on the credit card – we don’t take it!

If any red flags exist, the salesperson does everything with that customer.

If any of these flags appear, first of all the salesperson who caught the UP does EVERYTHING themselves with that customer. They do not hand off anything to an assistant. Assistants do not check ID, run credit cards, take personal information – the salesperson does it ALL.

What additional steps do you take if you notice potential red flags during a sale?

Don’t handle it on your own! If you have any bad feelings at all, get someone else involved. Steps to take include:

• Consult with Maggie, Cheryl, Robin, or Leo and see what they think of the situation. Have them go out and observe the customer.
• Call the credit card authorization center and state it’s a code 10.
• Verify the billing address with the credit card authorization center (even if we’re not shipping it).
• Scan the ID through the Retail ID app on your phones to verify it is valid and current.
• Make sure ID and credit card matches and signatures.
• Take a copy of their ID, credit card, and/or passport.
• Google their name and address to see if it’s a residence and not a warehouse, PO Box or crappy apartment. See if their name matches the address in the white pages.
• Google name and see if there are any social media pics that match appearance with family members and friends.
• See if their story matches about what they do for a living. Check their work website for employee pics to see if they match or linked-in profile.
• Feel them out and look for inconsistencies in what they say and what their story is on why they are purchasing.

The bottom line is that we would rather forgo the sale than make the sale only to be ripped off by fraud and have our money taken away by the credit card company in a charge back.