New Refund Scam Targets QSR Employees: Here’s What You Need to Know

In recent weeks, a new phone scam is making its way through the restaurant industry, and it’s costing operators thousands in fraudulent refunds. The scammers pose as members of a restaurant’s IT or Accounting department to gain trust. The scam is designed to trick employees into processing fake refunds to prepaid debit cards controlled by the scammer, by making it seem like a standard IT request.

How the scam works:

Here’s how the scam typically unfolds:

1. A scammer calls the restaurant, posing as someone from the corporate IT or Accounting department.
2. They claim there’s an issue with the credit card terminal that requires a test transaction.
3. The caller instructs the employee to add a “test card” (usually a prepaid debit card) to their Apple Pay or other digital wallet.
4. The employee is directed to process a refund using their phone as if it were a customer’s card.
5. The terminal may display a “declined” message, but behind the scenes, the refund is processed and funds are transferred to the scammer-controlled prepaid card.
6. The scammer may encourage multiple attempts, increasing the total loss and making it harder to trace.

By having employees enter the prepaid card into their personal digital wallets, scammers avoid detection and make it harder for loss prevention teams to investigate and recover stolen funds.

What to know:

These requests are not legitimate. No real corporate department will ever:

• Ask an employee to process a refund to an unknown card.
• Provide prepaid card information.
• Request that employees use their own phone or digital wallet for transactions.

What to do:

If you or your employees receive a call like this, do not proceed. Instead:

• Hang up immediately.
• Document the phone number, if possible.
• Contact your IT department and Loss Prevention team directly.
• Reinforce and enforce your no personal phones while working policy. Scammers rely on employees having access to their mobile wallets during shifts.

Industry-wide impact:

This isn’t an isolated incident. We’ve heard reports from multiple brands and franchise groups, and the frequency of these scams is rising. As a loss prevention partner to thousands of restaurant locations, Envysion is helping operators raise awareness and protect their teams and revenue.

Best practices to share with your team:

Here are six key tips adapted from the FTC and our loss prevention partners to help stop scammers in their tracks:

1. Spot imposters: Don’t trust unexpected calls from “corporate.” Always verify.
2. Don’t believe caller ID: Numbers can be spoofed.
3. Never pay upfront for a promise: Scammers often apply pressure tactics.
4. Talk to someone: Loop in a supervisor before taking any action.
5. Hang up on robocalls: Never press a number to opt out. Just hang up.

Don’t deposit a check and wire money: It could be a fake.

How Envysion can help:

At Envysion, we’re seeing firsthand how these evolving threats are impacting restaurants. As a trusted partner in video security and loss prevention, we’re committed to helping operators spot fraud sooner, investigate incidents faster, and keep teams informed.

Want to strengthen your restaurant’s loss prevention strategy? Let’s talk.