According to the complaint, he offered the Apple Store employees a fake authorization code with a certain number of digits, normally provided by credit card issuers to create a record of the credit or debit override. (Business Insider, like the Tampa Bay Times, refuses to publish the number of digits “so as not to inspire anyone.”)
But that’s the problem with this system: as long as the number of digits is correct, the override code itself doesn’t matter.
“It does not actually matter what code the merchant types into the terminal,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said publicly after a similar case occurred there in February. “Any combination of digits will override the denial.”
The action is said to technically be a form of wire fraud for which merchants can be liable for charges if they override a credit or debit card denial using this method. Citing court records, The Tampa Bay Times said Parrish initially forced a transaction at the Apple Store in Brandon, in which he used a fake authorization code to make a purchase of $7,753.22.
“Because Apple employees overrode the initial declination against the instructions of Chase Bank, Apple — not the financial institution — suffered the loss as a result of this fraudulent transaction,” Halliwell wrote in the criminal complaint.
Parrish is said to have attempted this scam on a car rental company and a Seattle hotel. He is currently being held without bail in the Pinellas County Jail.
No comments from Tampa’s Secret Service field office. Apple was contacted to learn if they plan to make changes to the current policies with regards to overriding credit or debit card denials. No response yet.
