Victim Location 22201
Total money lost $65.72
Type of a scam Credit Cards
We were contacted by phone by someone to set up an appointment with Markell K***, whose card says he is a senior account executive with Interchange Payment Systems. The first calls were to qualify us as an appropriate potential customer based on the volume of credit card payments received. Mr. K*** came to our office on November 2, 2018 to sell us credit card processing. We are a law office that deals primarily with clients who are overseas. A couple of years ago, we decided to begin accepting credit card payments via a secure payment portal on our website. We worked through *** *** to set up the payment processing. Mr. K*** said his firm could save us money on credit card processing. He said IPS provided a "gateway" that would allow our secure payment portal to work as it does now but instead of paying the bank fees we would be charged a flat fee of $230 per month for 48 months for the "gateway". That would be the only charge regardless of the amount of the credit card payments processed. We explained to Mr. K*** that we do not process any credit card payments on site using a card reader. All payments are made via the web through our payment portal. Mr. K*** said he understood and that the "gateway" would be how the payments would be processed. IPS was to work with our web contractors to set up the interchange protocols to replace those being used by *** ***. Several days later, we received point of sale (POS) machines by *** and contacted Mr. K*** to find out why as we do not process credit card payments on site as had been explained to him. He came by an retrieved the machines. However, it was clear that the "gateway" contract had in fact been a POS machine lease agreement with *** ***. I received a call from Randy W*** at *** over the Thanksgiving Day break and finally spoke to him on December 6th. In the interim, our web contractors had been unable to get any information from Mr. K*** or his associates that would enable them to set up the "gateway". I explained to Mr. W*** that we did not need the POS machines and were unaware of any lease for their use. When he sent us the documentation that had been provided to him by IPS, it was clear that the documents I had signed on November 2, 2018 had been doctored after the fact. Mr. K*** claimed that this had been a mistake on their part and brought us a new "gateway" contract on December 18, 2018. The contract was for a "software interchange" that was to be paid over 48 months at $85 per month. However, since that date, IPS has not been in contact with our web contractors nor has any interface been created so that credit card payments can be processed through out secure payment portal using Mr. K***’s company’s "gateway".
Our bank account was charged with an ACH debit for $4.51 for "Bankcard Monthly/Merch Fees" on 12/10. Mr. K*** said that was also an error and would be reversed. There was a second ACH debit for Gateway Services on 12/28 for $44.21. On January 3rd, our web contractors contacted Mr. K*** asking for a response to an email sent on 12/20 to which no response had been received. When I send a follow up email the same day to Mr. K*** and copied the email address he had provided for the technical support people who were to work with our web contractors to set up the "gateway", the email was rejected as a non-existent account. There was another ACH debit today for $17 also described as "Gateway Services". I contacted Mr. K*** by email today and instructed him to cease and desist charging our bank account for non-existent services.