Getting random $1 charges

[GinaG2]

Hi, I am a psychologist and have a "Make A Payment" button on my business website where patients can make payments using my Square account.  Within the past two weeks I have gotten two $1 charges from individuals I do not know.  Anyone know if this is some kind of fraud that is occurring, or preparation for eventual fraud?  The charges are concerning me.  Any feedback or guidance will be greatly appreciated!  Thanks so much.

[JK_Fiber_Art]

Hi GinaG2

Here's what I believe is happening as the same scenario happens quite often with people who accept any amount donations. This is a common practice for testing stolen credit cards.  The not so honest people find a small website that accepts donations or any amount payments (i.e., churches and small businesses are usually targeted) - they make a small donation or payment (normally 1$), if the transaction goes through, they know that the credit card in question (usually stolen) is good - after that, they go shopping.  You get the $ for now but, it's possible the card issuer may or may not take some sort of action assuming the card was reported to them.  Just one of the many scams out there for testing stolen cards.  Unfortunately you cannot stop something like this.  You could either refund the amount or require a minimum - seems not so honest people like the small amounts as they are usually under the radar for testing stolen credit cards.

[GinaG2]

Very helpful, good to know, thanks so much for your response.  Just curious, do you know if refunding the amount will open me up in any way to fraud re: my own bank account attached to the Square account?  Like can others get valuable info. that can be used to compromise my bank account?

[JK_Fiber_Art]

I don't think so - the refund should only show who or what business it came from.

[_Violet]

Hi @GinaG2 - Thanks for reaching out to us here on the Square Seller Community to bring this to our attention.

For this issue, I recommend that you conntect with our Support Team. They will be able to pull up your account and look into these transactions for more details. If you haven't already, please reach out to Support directly by logging into your Square account and heading here.

Appreciate your input here as well, @JK_Fiber_Art!