Kingston small business owners, Nathaniel and Anastasia Reboh, have been defrauded of nearly $5,000 in a sophisticated scam targeting their T-Shirt Explosion franchise in Belleville. This incident highlights a growing vulnerability for small businesses to financial crimes, as the perpetrators appear to be part of a larger, inter-provincial fraud ring.
Kingston business owners lose nearly £4,000 in debit machine scam
On 3 June 2025, a customer at the T-Shirt Explosion store in Belleville, owned by Kingston-based Nathaniel and Anastasia Reboh, executed a swift and calculated fraud. Instead of paying for two plain T-shirts, the individual manipulated the Moneris debit machine to cancel the transaction and issue a refund of $4,999.99 to a pre-paid Mastercard. The entire process took less than 20 seconds and was captured on security camera.
How the scam unfolded
- The suspect entered the store and selected two plain T-shirts.
- At the cash register, while seemingly attempting to pay, the individual quickly accessed the refund option on the debit machine.
- They then entered $4,999.99 and processed the refund to a pre-paid Mastercard.
- The store manager immediately sensed an issue and requested the machine back, but the suspect claimed their card didn’t work and promptly left.
- By the time the manager realised the fraud, the individual had already departed.
Widespread fraud and Moneris’s response
Nathaniel Reboh shared the security footage on Instagram, leading to a revelation that a similar scam had occurred at a small business in Alberta. This suggests a coordinated, inter-provincial fraud ring, with perpetrators spending the illicitly obtained funds across different provinces. Both T-Shirt Explosion and the Alberta business contacted Moneris regarding the fraud.
Moneris, a payment processing company, stated they would work with affected businesses to resolve issues, assist in fund recovery, and support law enforcement investigations. They also noted that businesses can enable user-level permissions on their devices to limit activities different users can perform, a feature available during initial setup.
Impact on small businesses
Reboh expressed frustration that such preventative measures are not pre-programmed into the machines. He believes scammers are specifically targeting small businesses using Moneris machines. The loss of nearly $5,000 is a significant blow for a small business, especially at the beginning of the month when expenses like rent and staff wages are due. The Rebohs are now working diligently to recuperate their losses and have become more vigilant in their transactions, hoping to prevent future incidents.
Sources
- Kingston small business owner out $5,000 following fraud, The Kingston Whig Standard.
