Look Out for Scammers Trying to Steal your Business

Scammers are creative and they constantly devise new schemes, exploit new technologies and change tactics to avoid detection. Stay safe by learning to identify and avoid scams.

Here are a few pointers on how they will contact you, and what they are trying to do.

These are the unexpected calls / texts / emails that refer to your costs being too high, your terminal needing to be replaced, or helping with your PCI Compliance. The scammer will feed you just enough information for you to think it is Dharma – they will say “This is your merchant services provider”, instead of “This is Dharma Merchant Services”; they will tell you they ran an audit and your fees are too high and they want to fix that; they will tell you your terminal is obsolete, and they will need to send you a new one; or that you are no longer PCI Compliant, but they can help you get it updated. In all cases, you will be asked to sign documents for them.

Dharma will never contact you and ask you to sign anything without previously having explained why. We will never create a sense of false urgency and insist we need a signature immediately. We will never ask for information we already have on file, such as bank account numbers, email addresses, tax IDs or any other confidential information you gave us when you signed up for a merchant account. Someone asking you for this information doesn’t have it, and is hoping you will give away details they can use to scam you.

If you get one of these calls, please contact Dharma directly, either at our main number 866-615-5157, via our Support Form, or by emailing support@dharmams.com. NEVER SIGN ANYTHING without contacting Dharma first.

Trust Dharma-owned channels

Always call Dharma directly when seeking sales or support assistance, or you need to make changes to your account. If it’s after hours, our Support lines will automatically roll to the processor on your account (Priority Payments for most merchants, Select Bankcard for certain others). You can reach us at 866-615-5157, via our Support Form, or by emailing support@dharmams.com.

Be wary of false urgency

Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they’re asking. Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.

Never sign anything

Dharma will never contact you needing you to sign a contract or any other document unless we have previously discussed it with you. Signatures are necessary for certain things – bank account updates, contact information changes, and so on – but that kind of request will always come with a full explanation, and only after you have contacted us.

Verify links and addresses first

The only legitimate website Dharma operates is dharmamerchantservices.com, and the only domain our emails come from is dharmams.com. If you are working directly with our banking partner Priority Payments, contact will come from prth.com or pps.io. Anything other than these is likely a scammer. Again, if there is any question about the legitimacy of a supposed Dharma contact, please contact us directly us at 866-615-5157, via our Support Form, or by emailing support@dharmams.com.

It’s important to note that, once you have signed any forms or contracts with these scammers, there is nothing Dharma can do to assist you. You can contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and register a complaint, but it will likely be too late to do anything about it. The scammers give very limited information about their businesses – no names, no contact other than one phone number, nothing – so most complaints go nowhere.