Police are warning Calgary businesses about a scam they say has become a growing problem in the city.
Several businesses have contacted Global News since reporting Tuesday on surveillance video taken from Chianti Café & Restaurant over the weekend.
The businesses say a scammer uses an administration card for the payment machine to change the amount due to a much higher number.
Once the incorrect payment goes through, usually on a stolen card, the customer tells the merchant they’ve made an error and asks for a refund, which is processed on a different debit card.
As a result, owners get dinged twice: once for the refund and again for the fraudulent charge.
“It’s got to be stopped,” Jim Mylonas, the owner of Mr. Sub on 16 Avenue N.E. said. “It’s thousands and thousands of dollars. These guys have done this thing for a long time.”
Mylonas has posted a picture of the alleged scammer inside his business as a warning for his employees. His company was scammed for about $1,800 last July.
In just a couple months, Smoker’s Haven in Calgary’s northeast lost about $5,000 in a similar scam.
“He was in here on different occasions with different credit cards between November and December of 2016,” manager Cathy Foley said.
Police said they have seen an uptick in credit and debit card-related crimes over the last few months.
“It’s pretty rampant right now all over the world and Calgary has seen an uptick in it,” Staff Sgt. Cory Dayley said.
In the last few months, Dayley suggests about one significant credit/debit crime is being reported each week. Last year, the problem cost Calgary businesses between $500,000 and $1 million.
Police recommend merchants keep a close eye on transactions, refund customers only when using the same card and change default administration codes on all payment machines.