A small family-owned jewelry business is wanting to spread after two teens, came to their booth at Traders Village and obtained 3 pieces of gold jewelry valued at $9000 through a deceptive payment tactic.
At approximately 5 PM yesterday, two teenage boys entered the jewelry booth, where the owner and his son sell gold and silver. One of the teens asked to purchase a gold bracelet and requested permission to manually enter a card number into the store’s Square app. (NOTE FROM GRIZZY: THAT IS A RED FLAG. Don’t ever hand your phones or any apps to a stranger).
Instead of processing the transaction as a credit card payment, the teen allegedly switched the transaction to “other payment type.” This option records the purchase as a completed sale without charging a credit card because the system assumes payment was received through another method, such as cash or Zelle.
Because the transaction appeared as completed, the owner believed the payment had gone through. After the tactic worked, the teen obtained two additional gold chains using the same method.
The owner became suspicious and took a photograph of one of the chains, unintentionally capturing the teen in the picture. When the owner returned home, his family reviewed the transactions and discovered that no payments had actually been processed.
The loss has placed a significant financial burden on the small family-owned business. The owner is the sole provider for his wife and two younger children.
The family’s primary concern is recovering the jewelry. They said they are willing to request that the matter not be pursued if all the jewelry is returned.
