If you had asked me a few years ago what “crime” looked like for shop owners, I probably would’ve said something like a break-in, stolen tools, maybe a car off the lot. But that’s not the world we’re living in anymore. Today, nobody needs to step foot in your shop to take your money. They just need a phone, a decent story, and a little bit of patience.

And I’ll be honest with you—this stuff is happening way more than most of us want to admit.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about fraud over the years. I even teach classes on it. And every time I do, the same thing happens: about a quarter of the room raises their hand when I ask who’s been burned. That sounds low… until you realize the stat behind it—only about 25% of fraud actually gets caught. Which means, statistically speaking, it’s happening to all of us.

Yeah. Let that sink in for a second.

This week, I want to focus on something very specific: customers scamming shops. Because in just one week alone, we saw multiple shops—different states, different markets—all get hit with nearly identical scams. That’s not coincidence. That’s a pattern.

And the worst part? These aren’t small hits.

Let’s say you do a $1,000 job and the customer burns you—chargeback, drives off, whatever it is. You’re not just out $1,000. You now have to sell that same job two more times just to get back to where you started. The first job puts you at negative $1,000. The second gets you back to zero. Only the third actually makes you money.

So it’s not just about lost revenue—it’s lost time, lost capacity, and missed opportunities. That bay could’ve been making you money with a real customer.

One of the biggest mistakes I see shop owners make is this: giving up the car before the money is locked in.

I get it—you want to provide good service. Someone says, “Hey, I just want to test drive it real quick.” Sounds reasonable—until they don’t come back. And here’s the kicker: if it’s their car, it’s not theft. It’s a civil issue. Good luck getting that money back.

That’s why I say it as plainly as possible: no cash, no car.

Now let’s talk about payments, because this is where things are getting really tricky. Credit cards, Venmo, PayPal—even wires—none of these are as final as you think. Chargebacks are killing shops right now, especially with card-not-present transactions.

Text-to-pay is convenient, but it’s also risky.

If you’ve never gone through a chargeback, here’s how it usually goes: you lose the first one. Not because you’re wrong, but because you didn’t have the right documentation—no signature, no proof, no verification. And the credit card company isn’t on your side. They’re following a checklist, and if you miss a step, you’re done.

I’ve seen shops sell thousands of dollars in tires—big orders, repeat “customers”—only to have every transaction reversed days later. No signatures, no ID, no proof. Just gone.

So what do you do?

It’s not about paranoia. It’s about process.

Make sure the person approving the work is the same person paying. Get signatures—every time. Record calls. Keep written communication. And if your system doesn’t support that? Fix it. Because the one time you need it is the one time you won’t have it.

And honestly, one of the most underrated tools you have is your gut. If something feels off—a weird story, out-of-state customer, high-dollar job with urgency—pause. Ask more questions. Tighten up your process.

Look, I’m not saying stop taking credit cards or shut down your business. That’s not realistic. But I am saying this: the way people steal has changed, and we have to change with it.

Because the truth is, you can do everything right and still get burned. But it’s a whole lot easier to become a victim when you ignore the risk.

Stay sharp out there.