3 Nov 2006

Samoa ANZ bank warns local businesses of credit card fraud

7:34 am on 3 November 2006

Samoa's ANZ Bank has warned all its customers and the local business sector of credit card fraud as the Pacific Island countries are currently being targeted.

The bank's local Manager Product Sales & Marketing, Mark Burns, says businesses should be on the alert for suspicious transactions despite only a few cases reported locally.

In one case, a reservation to a local hotel was paid with a stolen credit card then the reservation was later cancelled with a request for a cash refund.

Mr Burns says the card owner noticed the fraudulent transaction on their monthly statement and disputed it, leaving the hotelier out of pocket.

It's believed that this is the second time this year the local businesses mainly hotels have been warned about credit card fraud.