Member-only story
Buy Now, Pay Later Scams on the Rise
Fraud attempts impact both retailers and consumers
Buy Now, Pay Later is everywhere — from online retailers to traditional stores — even groceries.
It’s no surprise, then, that scammers have found ways to game the system — leaving both retailers and customers on the hook for their antics.
Scambusters reports on the growing number of Buy Now, Pay Later fraud schemes.
Scammers use two main tricks to fool retailers.
They hijack existing BNPL customers’ accounts, either by phishing or buying a person’s confidential information, like Social Security numbers, on the black market.
Or they open accounts by creating fictitious or synthetic identities by combining details of different people into a single persona — “Frankenstein identities” as they’re sometimes called in the financial security world.
Consumers are typically unaware until it’s too late — and then they are left to dispute charges with a retailer:
