Meat suppliers being targeted by card fraud
A NUMBER of North Yorkshire meat suppliers have been targeted by credit card fraudsters.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said they have received reports of meat suppliers and farm shops in the county taking large quantity orders over the phone which are then paid for using multiple credit card details, believed to have been stolen.
They said: “Payment does not clear prior to the goods being dispatched and is resulting in thousands of pounds worth of losses for the local businesses falling victim to this fraud. Police believe these fraudsters are operating as part of organised crime groups which employ individuals to pose as catering businesses which have been let down by their current supplier and urgently need to place a large order.
“Payment is likely to be made over multiple credit cards as the caller claims they want to spread the cost. There are often problems with the cards, some being declined, and this should be an immediate red flag to the trader.
“Kevin Ross from North Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, added: “The cards used to make payment in these scams are most likely from lists of stolen card details so the caller posing as the catering business, will just go through the list until they have managed to make the full payment required – in one case upwards of £11,000 for one delivery.
“They then insist on sending their own courier or a taxi to collect the products which will be delivered to an industrial or residential housing estate, never to a business address and the caller will use the excuse that this is because coronavirus has meant they’ve had to close their normal premises.
By Viv Mason
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