The year has begun in full speed and many people are thinking about ways to make money this year, its worthy to note that some are planning on stealing people hard earn money. Recently, a Nigerian business analyst has done well to call the attention of the public to a new POS scam that many are blindly falling victim to.
Read it before you fall, victim, because these days, most people pay with POS than with physical cash even in stores and supermarkets.
“So there’s a POS scam going on (not sure it’s new) with some vendors. You finish your purchase and present your ATM card for payment. Once it shows APPROVED, they’ll remove your card without letting it print out a receipt, hence, the POS will revert to DECLINED. If you complain, they’ll tell you to contact your bank, that they’ll reverse the payment. Because that’s the general expectation, anyone nearby (even other customers) will join them in saying the same thing.”
“Once you fall for that scam and pay again, your money is gone. The bank/merchant will reverse the money, but not to your account. It goes to the vendor’s account. You’ll just waste your time going back and forth between your bank and the vendor. This has happened to me 3 times. The first 2 times, I didn’t bother because the money wasn’t material.”
This third one is the straw that’ll break the camel’s back. According to my bank, the merchant refused to refund me because they claim to have already reversed the money. Since the reversal can’t be traced to my account, my bank is following up to find a solution. So, to recap, if your transaction shows DECLINED and debits you, your money will be reversed to your account. If it 1st shows ‘Approved’ then ‘Declined’, the money will be reversed to the vendor’s account.”
“You won’t get your money back without a fight. Be guided. As @oderathekid advised, when you’re done putting your pin, hold the POS until it shows you approved and prints the first receipt. When you put your pin and they immediately ask you to give them the POS, don’t listen to them. Protect your money.”
Please be guided, don’t fall victim to this POS scam this year.