| Credit card fraud has become pervasive on the | | | | software for e-commerce, orders from Ukraine, |
| Internet. According to MasterCard International, | | | | Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Egypt, Romania, |
| account takeover fraud has increased by 369% since | | | | Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia and Pakistan have a very |
| 1995. It has become one of the fastest growing | | | | high incidence of fraud, and often have unverifiable |
| types of fraud, and one of the more difficult to | | | | addresses.Untraceable email address. |
| combat. More than $700 million in online sales were | | | | In many fraudulent orders, the customer's email |
| lost to fraud in 2001, representing 1.14 percent of | | | | address is often at one of the free email services, |
| total annual online sales of $61.8 billion, according to | | | | like and yahoo.com, which are relatively |
| GartnerG2. Even if the credit card company has given | | | | untraceable.Expensive items. |
| the authorization as to the validity of the card, there | | | | Be wary of expensive orders, especially for |
| are several ways fraudulent cards can be used on | | | | expensive brand-name items.Multiple items. |
| your site. The card may have been lost or stolen, but | | | | It can be a bad sign, for example, if someone |
| the card owner is yet to report its loss. Or the | | | | orders three X-Box or three DVD players at once, |
| number on the card (and not the card itself) may | | | | especially where the items have a high resale |
| have been lifted without the knowledge of the | | | | value.Express shipping. |
| owner. There is also a scam called identity theft, | | | | Most fraudulent orders specify overnight or 1-day |
| where the card has been issued under false | | | | shipping without hesitation.Shipping address differs |
| pretenses using someone else's identity and data.As | | | | from billing address. |
| an online merchant, you need to have a system to | | | | Receiving point and billing address are different in |
| check the authenticity of orders placed to safeguard | | | | fraud orders. If you are selling valuable items, it can |
| your business. While the effort may require additional | | | | be a good policy only to ship to the billing address of |
| time and money, it can save you the cost and stress | | | | the card's holder.Suspicious billing address. |
| caused by charge-backs for fraudulent orders. You | | | | The address looks too simple or invalid. If the billing |
| lost your physical products; you lose the sale price; | | | | address is 123 Main St, New York, the order is |
| you lose another business opportunity; and you will | | | | probably fraud. You can use or online location tool to |
| be fined an additional $15-$50 charge-back fee. If you | | | | see if the address can be verified.Leave at door or |
| have a high percentage of charge-backs, your card | | | | post office box. |
| services company can even blacklist you and cancel | | | | If the courier service cannot guarantee delivery of |
| your merchant account. You will also spend time | | | | goods, the risk of fraud is very high.The |
| looking up the order and provide the requested | | | | advancement of geo-targeting in the Internet allows |
| information to your card services company. All of | | | | us to pinpoint the geographical region for an order. |
| these hassles are things you can surely do | | | | The information can be used to reduce the fraud by |
| without.How can you protect your business from | | | | verifying it with the billing address and delivery |
| credit card frauds? Here are a few steps that can be | | | | address. This method can identify the scenario where |
| taken to ensure that the transaction is being | | | | someone from country X has stolen the credit card |
| requested by the real cardholder.Suspect shipping | | | | data from country Y. The IP address lookup service |
| address. | | | | will reveal the real country instead of relying on the |
| According to ClearCommerce Corporation, a provider | | | | country filled in the order form. |
| of payment processing and fraud protection | | | | |