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To swipe or not to swipe: that is the question. Credit card fraud, and other forms of identity theft, are more prevalent today than ever before. As technology advances, fraud has become easier to commit, but luckily, technological improvements aid in protecting consumers everywhere. Such innovation is arriving in restaurants, offering peace of mind to owners and diners alike.
We’ve all heard the horror stories surrounding credit card fraud, and the restaurant industry is no exception to such victimization. Deana Martin, of Wildflour Catering, claims that the restaurant industry is especially vulnerable since people are much more inclined to trust their servers with handling their credit card information. “I’ve heard of waitstaff going through the purses of customers and co-workers to steal checks and credit card information,” she remarked. As a caterer, Martin notes that guests are more likely to casually ignore their personal belongings, rendering them vulnerable to such theft. Restaurant workers, who are often trusting of their environment, should also protect themselves. “Someone who is inclined to look for those lapses in judgment will take full advantage of them,” she said. To prevent fraud, Martin recommends that restaurants limit staff access to credit card information and added, “regardless of how well you screen your employees, you can never completely detect dishonesty in someone.”
Jen Ziskin, of La Morra, knows the bitterness of credit card fraud first hand, but in this case her restaurant was the victim. Prior to dining, a customer gave the restaurant his credit card information over the phone, claiming that he didn’t want to dispute the bill with other members of his party. Supplying La Morra with the personal information they needed, the customer was able to wine and dine his friends, without needing to sign for the tab. Some time later, Ziskin received an interesting letter in the mail. “There was a dispute over the charge, and they claimed they had never dined here. To make it worse, we didn’t have a signed receipt saying that they had,” she recalled. Nowadays, La Morra has changed their policies to further protect their guests from such identity theft. “One thing we’re doing is taking the verification code on the back of the card, and the other thing we’re doing is taking the address. We can then authorize the card by verifying the correct address,” she said.
Brian Piccini had a similar experience at his Dorchester restaurant, dbar. “It was very sly. It was Valentine’s Day and I got a call about an hour before service with someone asking if we had a reservation under a certain name. They said that they would love to pay for their entire meal, and to add 20% gratuity to their credit card. So I took down all of their information, I did an authorization, and I told the gentleman that I would mail him the receipt, and that he would have to sign it and mail it back to me. The couple came in and enjoyed their Valentine’s Day dinner, and spent between $350 and $400 dollars. Three months later, I got a call from the credit card company stating there was an unauthorized charge,” he recounted. This kind of strategy amongst thieves using stolen credit cards is very effective since they don’t need to provide a signature or be present for a visual identification. Piccini recommends that if a customer wishes to pay over the phone, you can avoid a scam by having them fax over a copy of their credit card and sign their receipt via fax. dbar has adapted this as their new policy since the Valentine’s Day incident.
Piccini also adds that the restaurant industry, in particular, faces difficulty in providing security against identity theft. “When you’re enjoying dinner out and you’ve just spent $500 dollars with your friends, and your server asks you for identification, the server won’t get as good a tip because the person will think they are being rude. The customer, unfortunately, doesn’t realize that the server is trying to protect the restaurant’s ethics. And at this point, if the guest doesn’t have a second form of identification, what does the server do? It’s past the point of sale!”
Thankfully, the threat of credit card fraud, to both the establishment and the patron, is becoming more and more preventable. The adaptation of stricter identification policies is a step in the right direction, but some restaurants are trying even more unconventional approaches.
Steve Chaisson, of Boston’s Legal Sea Foods, played a part in the decision to adopt tableside credit card processing within five of their locations. “It’s a device that you would typically see at a convenience store attached to the cash register, with a pin pad in front of it and a little paper receipt printer on the back end. Now, we’ve disconnected it, added some wireless technology, and you can walk around and bring it to any table. The credit card never leaves the guest’s hand - they swipe it themselves, calculate the check themselves, and get their own receipt,” he explained. Although the idea may be hard for some patrons to grow accustomed to, Chaisson has received an overwhelmingly positive response to the unique technology.
“Guests look at it as a curiosity the first time they use it, but they’re very comfortable using it in repeat visits. For the most part, everybody loves it. We’ve seen people say, “check please,” and in 90 seconds they’re gone with a smile on their face.”
There are many benefits to tableside processing, such as an increase in table turnovers, and a feeling of comfort among guests. But one must wonder if such technology truly protects against fraud. Chaisson noted, “A restaurant is pretty much the only place where you’d give someone your credit card and let them walk away with it. It helps the credit card companies cut down on fraud, and for me, it helps guests with speed of transaction and security.” The devices, which have been in use in Europe and South America for the past decade, are only currently being adopted in the United States. Chaisson believes that Legal Sea Foods is the first restaurant in the US to adopt the tableside devices, and the restaurant looks forward to leading the way in terms of listening to guest and server feedback while simultaneously perfecting the software.
The future of credit card fraud protection in the restaurant industry is a bright one, and with new policies and better technology, we’ll one day be able to swipe without a second thought.
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General Business 
