Hi everyone,

I just received my very first chargeback & obviously I'm not happy.

As we all know, fraud is everywhere.

This particular customer is in the UK.

What I need to do even though I have been avoiding it, is to sign up for a fraud protection service that is reliable & actually works. Can you please recommend sites/services that you have used that work.

Also, when you have overseas customers & you are in the States, how do you protect yourself?

Do you insist on a real e-mail address instead of the freebie ones?

Do you call the customer first to verify their phone number?

I was on medium protection b/c of out of States customers & his address still verified.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks & have a great wknd.


Michelle

I see this thread is getting no response, so I'll try and jump in.

Far short of being an expert, I'd recommend you use a service like PayPal. PayPal obviously doesn't accept chargebacks, and should provide a safety net against fraud for you.

Manually processing orders to make sure they don't seem fishy is a great way to detect fraud, and from what I've heard, will filter most of it out.

Knock on wood, I've never been a victim of fraud. Good luck Michelle!!

Hi Danny,

Sorry I haven't responded to this thread in a while.

Just so you are aware, Pay Pal does allow people to commit fraud on Pay Pal & it happened to me & Pay Pal just took my money believing the fraudulent customer & not even caring what kind of evidence I had, so who ever told you Pay Pal is safe wasn't aware of how Pay Pal operates & all of the problems that can insue.

You can check out this site for more info if you want... www.paypalsucks.com

I'm still waiting for my money back after the large settlement Pay Pal had to dole out b/c of all the people who sued.

On a more positive note, Verisign has a system I am gonig to start using if they ever decide to take my money LOL Their sales team sucks & my VA is going to get right on that

Take care



Michelle

I've been doing it for a few years and half the chargebacks I have got were a result of the customer either not knowing what the charge was or just plain knowing it is almost a certain win for them since no card was present. PayPal has a new fraud protection thing where you pay a small amount to protect against chargebacks.

Here are a few tips
Email them back with some trivial question. The fraudsters rarely reply.

Call the number listed, if no answer, or it's non existent or its a fax machine that's another major red flag.

Allow a place for comments on the order form, some of the extremly stupid fraudsters will put something there that raises a red flag.

Check the IP they are at. If it is from some third world country but the card address is Manhattan, thats another flag. Better yet just add the IP's to your .htaccess file of countries you don't care to do business with --> http://blackholes.us/

No single thing will solve the problem and no third party processor is going to stop the fraud for you. Credit card companies make a profit on chargebacks from YOU in their 25-50 dollar chargeback fee, so I have to wonder if they care either way, although the "official" public stance is they are fighting it tooth and nail and care greatly.

Some tips on how to avoid unnecessary chargebacks and fraud:

1) Make sure that your domain name appears on the customer's statement. You can ask your merchant processor to bill your customers with virtually any name you choose. For example, if your company name is "XYZ Corp", and you are DBA www.shoes.com, make sure your the URL appears on the customers statement. A quick call to your merchant processor is all it takes. Don't let consumers chargeback because they don't recognize your business name.

2) Enabling CVV: Most internet shoppers know that CVV is the 3 or 4 digit number embossed on the card. Some don't. You may lose business to those who get confused at this stage of the ordering process. If you are selling high ticket items, it is necessary to enable CVV. It is very valuable in preventing fraud since it requires the actual card (not just the card number and exp. date) for approval. If you are in a low fraud industry, then you may want to do a cost benefit analysis on whether CVV is worth it or not.

3) Authorize.net offers a feature called Fraudscreen.net. Fraudscreen.net analyzes consumer buying data as well as other factors to determine the probability that the order is fraud. There is a per transaction fee however.

Hope that some find these tips helpful.

Avi Wilensky

I've been doing business offshore for 25+ years and I'll give you the scoop about payment.

Do all transactions with offshore companies or individuals in CASH. That means a wire transfer.

I know it's a lot easier to do credit card transactions. That's why you will get defrauded if you do it. The ROI for doing business offshore this way is negative and always will be.

If a customer wants to buy something and he's offshore, he knows the correct way to pay - by wire transfer. They always get this demand from any large American company and they know that's the way to make the purchase. A wire transfer just involves a phone call to their bank. No matter what kind of grief they give you, it's not a big deal. They are used to doing it and the bank makes it easy for them.

So, put together a page that has all your bank information that their bank needs to do a wire transfer to your account and send it to them, saying it's the only method you offer for payment. In the long run, you will not lose any revenue because of this.

And NEVER ship anything to anyone until you receive the funds in your account and have a confirmation from the bank.

zeroth

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info.

I already know all about CVV. This customer had all the relevant info.

I'm with Verisign, not Authorize.net & I just joined up for their Fraud Protection & Buyer Authentication Program & I will be changing it on my shopping cart & site later today.

From now on I will not be responsible for any chargebacks International or otherwise. I felt it was a good investment.

As for wire transfers, there is usually a $25 s/c that most people don't want to pay.

Now I won't have to worry about that w/ this program & if something goes wrong, then & only then will we discuss other options.

Thanks & have a great Monday


Michelle

hello,

Ask me about chargebacks and it can be a real nightmare for internet merchants. i suffered a lot until i got myself prepared for it. This site really helped me: Credit Card Chargebacks - A worst nightmare for Internet Merchants