Unipet CEO Dexter Riley said yesterday an investigation into fraudulent credit card transactions at the company’s Tacarigua service station is ongoing and is advising card users to follow the guidelines given by their banks to avoid being robbed.
Guardian Media reached out to Riley yesterday following a Facebook live video by Mahalia Regis, who complained that between US$400-$500 was illegally withdrawn from her credit card account through the Unipet station.
Just Wednesday, Fraud Squad Supt Curt Simon revealed that there were 662 reports of ABM fraud this year, amounting to $4.5 million. Simon said that officers recovered a hundred counterfeit cards. In Regis’ case, Riley said she was a victim of identity theft.
In her video a few days ago, Regis explained that she attempted to purchase gas at Petro Mart in Maraval with her credit card. Her card has a chip, meaning that the customer representative did not need to swipe her card in the Point of Sale machine.
However, he swiped the card and eventually told her that he could not follow her instructions because the system was down.
Two days later, her credit card provider called her, inquiring whether she made purchases at the Tacarigua station.
“The woman said ‘well we have 13 transactions from Unipet gas station in Tacarigua’. So they went through the transactions. It was $200, $205, $299, $105, $300, $500, $500. Thirteen transactions, about US $400-$500 was pulled from my credit card from this Unipet gas station,” Regis said.
Deciding to visit the Tacarigua station, she was then told by a supervisor that someone may have used her card at the pump.
But Regis questioned whether a motorist could purchase US$500 worth of gas at the pump. She also asked if it was done in the store, whether they did not find it suspicious that someone used a credit card 13 times at the store in two days.
“Tell me, can you pump $US400 by a pump? They told me that when you come to their establishment, by this counter here, you need to use ID. So how did somebody get to use my credit card at their establishment without the ID card? So that is what I am trying to understand, what happened, that I am out of US$400 or US$500 because they did not ask for ID. She (supervisor) is trying to convince me that they always ask for ID at these establishments.
“I am letting you know, ladies and gentlemen, that there is a scam going on in gas stations. When you come to the gas station, do not use your credit card at these gas stations because they are taking your cards and scanning it and using it back in this same gas station when nobody is looking.”
Although he admitted that fraudulent transactions took place at the Unipet station, Riley said the identity theft occurred somewhere else. Noting that bank fraud is a worldwide problem, he said an investigation is still ongoing into the matter with the hope of further tightening security.
Over the years, Unipet has invested in surveillance equipment, private security and Riley said it works closely with the banks and the police concerning financial security. “There is a problem in the financial sector which affects merchants. The identity theft did not occur at our station, but the fraudulent transactions happened at our station. There was a small trader there that day and it could have occurred then. However, our employees were not involved in the fraudulent activity and it was someone else who used her card. We frown on those things and we will continue to work with customers and the banking sector to see if it can be prevented. Over the years, we’ve detected some instances, but we have a high volume of transactions daily as we are in the retail business,” Riley said.
While many consumers fear falling prey to fraudsters, he said the banking sector provides quality advice on how consumers can safeguard themselves.
Petroleum Dealers Association president Rabindranath Narinesingh said yesterday that all credit card transactions at the pump are done in TT dollars.
He suspects there could be techies who are gerrymandering the system to defraud people of their money.