So i own a small chocolate factory, and we have a online store. Recently we got two very big online orders from far(we are in osaka, order is from Fukuoka) for a amount that is little unusual, both orders are 10x as big as we get normally. Now we are happy about the order but those two orders are from different houses , but both are foreigners, their email addresses look like random and the names that they wrote down don’t match the names of the credit cards that they have paid with. Credit cards are under Japanese names, but the names for address are foreigners and we called them and they don’t speak Japanese well, we asked them if they need bags (for a present) they said no need. Now my fear is that rhey will cancel their credit card charge even when i already did send the order. How do i protect myself from this in Japan? Maybe im afraid for nothing but it is strange that somebody would buy 60 chocolates , and they in 2 days after we get are ordering for 60 more. Is there something i can do? Or am i as a business owner protected against this? EDIT; it was a scam and it was all resolved in our favor 😁😁
19 comments
Mmmm can you enforce somehow that order and credit card owner is the same?
So you can show credit card company in case is a scam
I don’t have an answer, but can you make a phone call to the credit card company to confirm?
Maybe call with some random minor issue speak only in Japanese and ask for the person in the credit card? So you can somehow be sure the cc person knows about it?
This *feels* like there’s something funny going on.
It’s strange if the person doing the order is named something like John Smith, and is using a credit card belonging to a Taro Sato. But then again, it might be their husband’s/wife’s CC.
What is the monetary value of the transactions?
You should be able to ask whoever processes your credit card transactions about fraud protection for yourself.
As the vendor, you could probably reject the order, and tell the would-be customer why.
Isn’t it illegal to use a credit card of another person to start with? In other words, if someone makes a purchase using a credit card belonging to another person it is a matter which must be reported to police.
Do you use some kind of payment processor? like Stripe for example?
Stripe for example, they have anti-fraud protection, or tools that shows how likely the the transaction is fraudulent.
I sell online too, and dealing with charge back is horrible.
If I cannot afford to lose the product + charge back, I would just cancel the order.
Better be safe than lose a 100k in products + charge back fee
You should weigh the both possibilities…
I would like the money, vs I can afford to lose all that product (and then some more) to a scam/chargeback.
What to do really depends on the policies of your card processor. If a stolen card was used, and the transaction was disputed, or a chargeback was initiated (item not as described, delivered damaged, etc) , who bears the loss? You, or your card processor?
If you’re bearing the risk, you should consider what others have suggested. Large orders must be paid via bank transfer only. Maybe work in a small discount (5-10%?) to cover their transfer fee, and their “loss” of credit card rewards. It’s beneficial for you as it reduces your risk, and you also save on your card processing fees.
As the names don’t match, maybe try to find out why, and speak to the card holder instead. Perhaps they don’t have a CC in Japan, and a friend is helping out… Then request for the friend to put in the order to their name and address instead.
Does your card processor perform address verification? That’s one way to reduce risk all around. (shipping address matches card address)
The company I work for operates a number of EC sites and a call center.
We get quite a lot of potential scam cases and scammed (from time to time), one of the first things I recommend is to check out the [phone number](https://jpnumber.com) in which the order came from.
There might be previous cases of fraud noted in the word of mouth section linked to it.
Sometimes it’s legit and the customer might be buying bulk to resell overseas. Like the other commenters said, check fraud detection scores/protection at your payment processor if possible.
If you see repeated orders at the same address but with different cards each time though (bonus point if you see failed attempts before the successful payment), I would be very concerned, as they might be running through a list of stolen card details.
Tell them to order again with the correct credit card name and address for payment, they can give an alternative delivery name and address.
Ask for a bank wire instead and be upfront and honest that their orders are relatively bigger than usual to avoid losing or offending the customers
Since you use stripe, maybe their 3D Secure is worth implementing. Then you can in most cases shift liability to the card issuer in the event of fraud. https://stripe.com/docs/issuing/3d-secure
Yes, always yes.
If you have to ask yourself (or in Reddit) the question: is this a scam?
It most probably is.
Be safe out there, take care of your business,
Sorry I have nothing to contribute to the matter. But I think “So I own a small chocolate factory” is one of the coolest things one can say.
Whatever you do, please be honest with the customer.
One experience I had in Japan that still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is when I purchased something from an online store. The store contacted me due to being worried about my scary-sounding foreigner name, they said that their store policy was that first-time customers had to use a bank transfer. When I pointed out that that rule wasn’t listed in on their “how to purchase” page and the product was definitely not something people would buy a second time, they simply moved on and said that they don’t accept “foreign credit cards”. After pointing out that they card I used was a SMBC card, they finally relented.
So I wouldn’t follow the advice here to make up lies about your “finance department”. Just be honest and tell them that you are a small business and you don’t usually receive such large orders. Or ask for clarification on the name issue. Be sure to clearly state that your suspicion is not because they are simply foreigners.
Thank you all!! it was a scam and i refunded both transaction also one of the packages is going back to ke !!! this guy also ordered stuff from big companies like godiva and royce but Yamato didn’t deliver anything but stoped delivery!! so no loses for my small company! 😁😁😁
Is your name Charlie?
I dont think it is a scam, but there is a possibility it is a fraud.
We had the police in our hotel to interview some guests from China a few times, they bought legitimately a package in China from a reseller, but the reseller used a stolen credit card to buy the packages in the first place.
I think it is a good idea that you keep yourself safe by asking for a bank transfer payment rather than credit cards if the names do not match.
Next time you get a suspicious order like that, politely say that protocol requires payments over a certain amount to be made by 銀行振込 (or make up a lie that the card payment was rejected and that payment can be made by 銀行振込). If they oblige and make the transfer, it can’t be reversed. If they get upset or stop responding, it’s pretty safe to assume that you dodged a bullet.