Protecting Your Business From Credit Card Fraud

How to Protect your Business From Credit Card Fraud





Since credit cards are used as forms of payments now more than ever, it is vital to protect your online business from credit card fraud. Many online businesses only accept payments via a credit card, and it's very easy to become a victim of fraud. The good news is that there are steps you can take, whether a business is online or offline that will help to eliminate the risk of becoming a victim of credit card fraud.





The common public perception is that the consumer is the one who is often the victim of fraud, but the reality is that it's much more common for the merchant to be the victim. The following are tips for merchants to help avoid being a victim of credit card fraud.





If you're shipping a product to a consumer, make sure the shipping address matches the billing address. If it does not, you probably should investigate the transaction.





Always verify that an address that the consumer gives is a valid. Most merchant accounts have an Address Verification System that verifies whether or not the given address matches the cardholder's billing address.





Always investigate unusual orders. This almost goes without saying, but if something gets ordered that is completely out of the ordinary check it out. The best case is to phone the customer if you can and verify the purchase. Even if the purchase was not fraudulent, they should be grateful that you called.





Always request as much information as possible when they are filling out the order form. Most of the time the safest thing to do is to ask for all of the address information, but also make sure to get the 3 or 4 security digits that all cards have now. Your merchant account should allow for this information to be checked now and if it's not you should consider switching merchant accounts.





A warning on your web site that you have anti fraud devices in place and operating at all times. Similar to the way a "Beware of Dog" sign will deter thieves from entering someone's house, this will give the thief pause before entering your web page.





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