Save the season

We know the season is off to a rocky start due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. We’ve put together a list of resources for retailers of all sizes meant to help you save the season by making the most out of all the Ascend products and services available to you today. Let’s dive into a couple specific items on the resources page.

We’re here to support you: The pandemic currently has NO effect on the Ascend Support Team’s availability. We’re thankful to have had the infrastructure ready to allow our employees to work from home with full access to all the tools needed to help you and your employees.

Support is available during our regular business hours, emergency support is available on weeknights and weekends, and our self-help resources are available year-round at any time of day or night. And, of course, we’ll notify you if anything requires us to change our schedules – sign up for our emails to ensure you’re getting the latest updates!

Remain vigilant: This is difficult time and it’s extremely tempting to accept any and all sales; unfortunately, scammers are taking full advantage of the situation. We’ve discussed credit card security before – but take a minute to review the major points:

• Whenever possible, process credit/debit cards through the Ingenico iSC250. This ensures you’re complying with the security embedded in the EMV chip on the card. While some issues may be caused by the bank/card issuer not implementing EMV standards correctly, it’s also possible the card was tampered with. It’s better to err on the side of caution and ask the customer to use a different card or payment type.
  • If the charge is reported as fraudulent, the “liable party” is considered as whoever has the least amount of security in place (between the customer, retailer, payment processor, and bank/ card issuer).
• Be wary of shipping, especially if you’ve never met the customer. Never ship large and/or expensive items. If the customer is asking to have them shipped out of state or to a different address than their billing address, be extra cautious.
  • Even if the customer is willing to come into the store to make payment using the Ingenico iSC250, verify they are who they claim to be by checking their driver’s license to verify their identity, address, and signature.
• Keep Ascend, your computers, and hardware up-to-date at all times. Secure your internet connection (including WiFi) and all computers.
• Check out our article for additional ways to protect your store from scammers, hackers, and theft.

Stay safe! Make sure to regularly check on your country, state, and town’s guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic as these could be updated regularly. Please help play your part to keep yourself, your staff, and your customers healthy.

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Tags: ascend support, coronavirus, COVID-19, fraud, pandemic, security